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

Apr 7, 2011

NATO Renewed from Afghanistan

By Jan Techau

Anders Fogh Rasmussen has won the Afghan War. When he became Secretary General of NATO on the 1st of August, 2009, he took over an organization that was threatened by severe "Afghanistan depression." The Alliance appeared to be over extended. Neither the military mission nor the civil reconstruction projects were progressing, the Americans, Dutch and […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2011

The Realist Prism: Libya Could Shift NATO Focus Southward

By Nikolas Gvosdev

The commencement of military operations in Libya has led to some unexpected reactions in Eastern European capitals. It was widely expected that Russia, whose uneasiness with the very principle of humanitarian intervention is well-known, would have used its veto at the U.N. Security Council to block the passage of Resolution 1973. After all, Russia’s firm […]

Event Recap

Mar 31, 2011

Prospects for Nordic-Baltic Security and Defense Cooperation

Thursday, March 31, 2011, the Atlantic Council’s International Security Program welcomed Edward Lucas, The Economist’s Central and Eastern Europe Correspondent and International Editor.

New Atlanticist

Mar 28, 2011

When an Ally’s in Trouble, America Responds

By Robert Bracknell

On March 11, America’s perennial ally Japan suffered the double calamity of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and a powerful ensuing tsunami. Resultant electrical failures at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant caused reactor cooling systems to fail, resulting in overheating, reactor explosions and the release of radiation into the atmosphere. So far, about 7,500 are […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 25, 2011

Unify NATO’s Libya Operation

By Damon Wilson

Fighting effectively requires fighting coherently under a unified chain of command.  In Libya, this means NATO exercising effective command and control of the coalition operations.  The Alliance now has command of two of three pillars of the military operation: enforcing the arms embargo with a naval blockade and (as of a few hours ago) enforcing […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 23, 2011

West’s Goal Must be Gaddafi’s Removal

By Kurt Volker

The launch of Western military operations to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1973 is long overdue, but nonetheless welcome: After weeks of delay, brutal attacks by the regime, and a loss of momentum for the rebellion, Colonel Gaddafi’s counter-revolution might now be halted.

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Mar 22, 2011

Libya Primer: Who is In Charge of Allied Forces?

By Jorge Benitez

There is a lot of speculation and misunderstanding about the existing command and control structure for the international military operation in Libya.  The truth in this case is not pretty and in flux. The command and control structure of the coalition is messy and complicated.  But keep in mind that the current structure was created […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2011

Obama’s Libya Turnabout

By James Joyner

After two weeks of signaling that the United States would continue its pattern of not intervening in the democracy movements in the Middle East, the Obama administration suddenly persuaded the UN Security Council to authorize war to protect civilians in Libya. Was this a deliberate subterfuge or did the president change his mind? My initial […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2011

Building Afghanistan’s Police Force

By Derek Reveron

For many of the world’s countries, human security is now national security. Afghanistan is no exception. While much attention centers on building an Afghan army while NATO military forces conduct counterinsurgency operations, there is also a concerted effort to build police forces to fill the security deficit created by years of war.  

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2011

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.

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2011

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.

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2011

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 […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 11, 2011

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 […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 10, 2011

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 […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Mar 9, 2011

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 […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2011

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 […]

Event Recap

Mar 2, 2011

The 2012 NATO Summit Agenda

Wednesday, March 2, 2011, the Atlantic Council’s International Security Program hosted Fabrice Pothier, Head of Policy Planning in the private office of the NATO Secretary General, in a small group discussion with the Council’s Strategic Advisors Group.

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Mar 2, 2011

The Future of NATO: Views from the Baltic

The State Secretary of Defense of Latvia Janis Sarts and the State Secretary of Defense of Estonia Mikk Marran visited the Atlantic Council’s International Security Program on March 2, 2011 as part of its Transatlantic Initiative on Nordic-Baltic Security.

New Atlanticist

Feb 28, 2011

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 […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Feb 28, 2011

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 […]

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