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

Aug 17, 2010

What Battle for Hearts and Minds?

By Raymond Pritchett

I spent some of the day going over the figures regarding the damage in Pakistan, and the damage that has taken place over the last several days of the monsoon season is beyond what any single nuclear weapon is capable of. Even more interesting, the areas impacted in Pakistan are the areas that every single […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 16, 2010

Petreaus’ Afghanistan Media Tour

By James Joyner

New Atlanticist

Aug 16, 2010

Flood Gives Pakistan, U.S. Chance to Build Bridges

By Shuja Nawaz

The fierce flooding in northwest Pakistan is a catastrophe that’s killed more than 1,000 people, left thousands homeless and millions more in desperate need of aid. Does the disaster also create an opportunity for Pakistan and the United States to win hearts and minds with food and assistance? NPR’s Scott Simon talks with Shuja Nawaz, […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 16, 2010

Case for Military Jointness Throughout Government

By Sebestyen L. V. Gorka

Sooner or later it was bound to happen, as even a hyperpower has limits. After nine years, the United States is reassessing its commitment to the longest war it has to date prosecuted.

New Atlanticist

Aug 13, 2010

Helping Pakistan Helps Ourselves

By James Joyner

As my colleague Shuja Nawaz has eloquently argued, massive American aid to help Pakistan recover from the humanitarian disaster of the recent flooding "may help improve America’s image among a population that generally resents the United States."  But the converse is true, too:  doing too little will bolster the Taliban.

New Atlanticist

Aug 12, 2010

Hope Amid Pakistan’s Tragedy

By Shuja Nawaz

The rains that have for the past two weeks caused the worst flooding in northwest Pakistan in eight decades have shifted attention from the country’s battle against insurgency and militancy and the fragility of its relationship with the United States.

New Atlanticist

Aug 12, 2010

When Sanctions Work

By David Kramer and Damon Wilson

Almost as soon as the United Nations Security Council voted in June for a new sanctions resolution against Iran, doubters questioned whether it would have any real impact on Iran’s behavior. Indeed, some analysts have argued, sanctions never really work against their intended targets; they only harm average citizens, sometimes inadvertently help the targeted regime […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Aug 11, 2010

Should Turkey Join the EU? The View from Europe

By Scott Bleiweis

During his recent visit to Ankara, British Prime Minister David Cameron made his stance on Turkish accession to the European Union plain and clear. “I will remain your strongest possible advocate for EU membership,” he said. “Together I want us to pave the road from Ankara to Brussels.” The Belgian government also supports such a […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Aug 11, 2010

NATO: What’s in a Name?

By Harlan Ullman

As the dog days of summer head toward autumn, NATO is in the process of what could be considered a major face lift. To the degree the surgical analogy fits, there is no guarantee that the patient will be transformed into a more beautiful or handsome creature or that infection can be ruled out. Indeed, […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 9, 2010

Defense Procurement Politics: F-35 Backup Boondoggle

By Sarwar Kashmeri

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is one of the most respected voices in Washington. Which is why it was so surprising to hear the Senator come out in support of a defense project that is opposed by the military, the secretary of defense, and by President Obama, as being expensive and unnecessary. The project is a […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2010

China’s Post-Crisis Economic Rebalancing

By Pieter Bottelier

Years from now, we may look back at 2009 and see that it marked a critical turning point in China’s economic development strategy. The global financial crisis deprived China of a paradigm for economic development, casting strong doubts about western countries’ abilities to restore growth momentum while sustaining domestic fiscal and international financial stability. For […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2010

WikiLeaks Aftermath

By Shuja Nawaz

IN STAND-UP comedy and politics, timing is critical. There was nothing “funny ha-ha’’ about the recent leak of US documents about the Afghanistan war implicating Pakistan and its Inter-Services Intelligence agency. But there was plenty of what the British call “funny peculiar’’ for sure. The leaks followed a period of growing confidence of the ISI […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 4, 2010

Shock and Awe Against Jihadists

By Harlan Ullman

August marks the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan. On Aug. 6, 1945, a B-29 named “Enola Gay” dropped “Little Boy,” a nuclear device with the equivalent of 10-15 kilotons of TNT that destroyed Hiroshima. Three days later, after Japan’s War Cabinet voted to continue the war, another B-29 launched “Fat Man” on […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2010

Afghanistan Oversight Failures

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

The questions go back and forth between the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry, who was once the military  commander in Afghanistan; and Special Envoy for "AFPAK" Richard C. Holbrooke, usually airborne

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2010

Balkans Get New Energy Line

By Borut Grgic

Back from the dead, the Balkan economies are picking up steam. Consumers are spending again and managers are expanding their production lines. This is good news, save one problem – energy supply. The Balkan energy markets are insufficiently supplied, not diversified enough, and still over dependent in some case on energy sources that emit unacceptable […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2010

Restructuring for Long-Term Threats

By Stephen Hadley and William Perry

For the past six months, we led a bipartisan panel of former national security and military leaders in reviewing the document laying out the Defense Department’s plans for the next 20 years. The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) released this year was prepared by a Pentagon focused on responding to the threats America faces and winning […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 2, 2010

A Warm Westerly Wind Toward Georgia?

By David Smith

As if driven to Georgia by Zephyrus, ancient god of the westerly wind, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton arrived here in the turn of two weeks.  Their visits and encouraging words indicate that a new westerly wind is blowing.

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2010

Gusher of WikiLeaks

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

The WikiLeaks scandal isn’t even a pale carbon copy of the Pentagon Papers 39 years ago that accelerated America’s Vietnam defeat. But even then there was nothing that wasn’t known by the war correspondents covering Vietnam. Deception and disinformation were part of the U.S. arsenal. And the daily afternoon military briefing was known as the […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2010

Possible Deliverables at OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan: Part 2

By Vladimir Socor

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the primary international organization in charge of resolving the Transnistria conflict since 1993. This task forms the basis, and sole raison d’etre, of the OSCE Moldova Mission’s mandate. Russian veto power, however, has prevented the OSCE from making any headway there. Any document on Moldova […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2010

Germany Can’t Afford Military Conscription

By James Joyner

Germany’s new coalition government has cut the period military conscripts must serve from nine months to six. And there’s a fair chance they’ll end mandatory service altogether. It’s about time. There’s little doubt that the draft has long ended its military usefulness. The United States has relied on an all-volunteer force since 1973 and almost […]

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