Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

NATO Goes To War. Again.

By James Joyner

Yesterday morning, it looked for all the world like the international community was resigned to Muammar Gaddafi brutally suppressing the uprising against him. Hours later, the UN Security Council unanimously authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.

Libya Clock Running Out

By James Joyner

At the behest of Lebanon, the UN Security Council held a closed door session yesterday to discuss what measures, if any, to take against Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. France was the strongest advocate and Russia the most skeptical of the all-important Permanent Members.

NATO and the Future of Afghanistan

By Derek Reveron

The media coverage of the NATO Defense Ministers meetings last weekend was replete with discussion regarding Afghanistan.  After all, it is the largest mission the Alliance has undertaken during its history and its first outside of Europe. While the Afghan people have the most to gain or lose from NATO’s decisions, the ministerial has reopened […]

Iran and the Arab Sandstorm

By Jonathan Paris

Much has been said about Iran taking advantage of the instability in the Arab world to increase tensions. Sending two ships through the Suez Canal to a Syrian port, at this time, signalled Iran’s desire to project Iranian power far beyond its neighbourhood. But such stunts miss the point. The more important consequences of the […]

NATO Action Cannot Replace A Security Council Resolution in Libya

By Sarwar Kashmeri

As the situation in Libya becomes daily more chaotic, pressure mounts on President Obama to militarily intervene on the side of the Libyan opposition.  He should resist these calls. Without a clear mandate from the United Nations Security Council in support of Libyan intervention, the United States has little to gain, and much to lose […]

No Ordinary Meeting

By Ivo Daalder

When U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates meets with our 27 Allies this week, it will be no ordinary affair. Their focus this week: Libya, Afghanistan, and historic reform at NATO itself. It’s the first time all of NATO‘s Defense Ministers will meet since the 28 Leaders of the Alliance set forth in November at the NATO […]

Needed: A Vision for the China-U.S. Relationship

By Banning Garrett

What kind of relationship will China and the United States have in ten years? Will it be primarily cooperative and collaborative in the face of the foreseeable – and unforeseeable – challenges the world will face? Or will the two countries drift toward strategic rivalry and hostile competition? During Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit […]

Libya No-Fly Zone: An Idea That Won’t Fly

By Magnus Nordenman

With the crisis in Libya moving at a breakneck speed, some have begun to call for the U.S. and NATO to do more to assist the opposition and halt human rights abuses perpetrated by the Gaddafi regime. The measures being proposed include a no-fly zone, which would prevent the regime from using airpower to suppress […]

Bonded in Blood: The U.S.-Afghan Relationship

By Derek Reveron

Afghanistan’s senior national security leaders were in Washington, D.C. last week for bilateral meetings. At the Pentagon on February 23, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates welcomed Afghanistan’s ministers of defense and interior for the first of what officials expect to be regular meetings to sustain a long-term military-to-military relationship. The message is consistent with what […]

National Security Through Partnership

By Derek Reveron

Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently asked the international community to support the growth of his country’s military and police. The request is a sure sign that Afghans want to secure their country from threats inside and outside its borders–but needs the international community’s continued support to do it. While helping Afghanistan overcome its security deficit […]

NATO-Russia Missile Defense as an Impossible Dream?

By Jakub Kulhanek

Long gone are the days of overt mistrust and frosty relations between NATO and Russia. Following the rupture in their relations in the wake of the war in Georgia, the two former rivals have managed to put their differences aside and are now in intense discussion to explore new possibilities for cooperation. Nothing, perhaps, better […]

US-Pakistan ‘Strategic Partnership’ After the Raymond Davis Incident

By Michael Cohen

For more than a year and a half supporters of the war in Afghanistan have steadily peddled the argument that one of the reasons that the US must stay militarily engaged in the region (and especially in Afghanistan) is to support Pakistan, particularly in its fight against radical extremists. The Obama Administration has even hailed […]

Cyber Strategy: A New Term for an Age Old Issue

By Anthony Calandra

Violence Has Silenced the Majority

By Mohsin Khan and Shuja Nawaz

The recent assassination of governor Salman Taseer of Punjab in Pakistan has highlighted the ongoing and often violent battle for the future of the country. Taseer had spoken out in favour of reviewing and amending the nation’s blasphemy law to make it less susceptible to abuse, especially against minorities, and to reduce punishments by eliminating […]

Joint Force Provider

By Robert Bracknell

In “Goodbye, JFCOM” [AFJ, November], retired Col. Bob Killebrew argues convincingly for the elimination of U.S. Joint Forces Command as a four-star-led combatant command. He notes correctly that what is really happening at JFCOM is less a standdown and more a reorganization, acknowledging that “three essential functions performed by the command … should be maintained, […]

Strategic Cyber Security and a Commercial Cloud?

By Chris Demchak

Should the United States base its national cyber security strategy around commercially offered “cloud computing,” as many are suggesting?