Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Can We Succeed in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

By Harlan Ullman

This week’s very visible visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Washington, combined with the fallout from Faisal Shahzad’s failed bombing attempt in New York’s Times Square and the specter of forcing Pakistan to go after terrorist training camps in North Waziristan, raises the question of whether or not “we” can succeed in Afghanistan and […]

Pakistan’s Homegrown Extremists

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Pakistan is still producing an estimated 10,000 potential jihadis a year out of 500,000 graduates from Pakistan’s 11,000 madrassas —  young gung-ho boys, mostly 16-year-olds, who finish 10 years of Koranic cramming and who can then recite the holy book by heart in Arabic. That means 114 suras (chapters), 6.247 ayats (verses), or 78,000 words. […]

Pakistan: A Comprehensive Approach

By Luv Puri

Pakistan is one of the most volatile regions in the world today and the situation in that country threatens the world peace. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who masterminded the September 11, 2001 terrorist strike in New York, was arrested in Pakistan; the London bombings of July 7, 2005 were carried out by Pakistani-origin terrorists; and the […]

NATO: Problems with No Solutions?

By James Joyner

NATO risks becoming a relic of the Cold War unless it finds a renewed sense of solidarity and political will while framing its new Strategic Concept.  That’s the central message of  STRATCON 2010: An Alliance for a Global Century, a report by the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group.

STRATCON 2010: An Alliance for a Global Century

NATO risks becoming a relic of the Cold War unless it finds a renewed sense of solidarity and political will while framing its new Strategic Concept.  That’s the central message of  STRATCON 2010: An Alliance for a Global Century, a report by the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group. Download the PDF

North Korea’s Radio Waves of Resistance

By Peter Beck

North Korea remains the most isolated country on earth, with its people effectively cut off from the outside world—or so the world has been told. But there is reason to believe this is no longer the case. My research suggests millions of North Koreans listen to or hear about foreign radio broadcasts. There is evidence […]

China’s Rise Means U.S. Fall in Asia

By Hugh De Santis

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s more conciliatory behavior at the recent nuclear summit is not likely to signal a change in Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in world affairs. Whether China’s reemergence as one of the world’s great powers proves to be advantageous or an impediment to international cooperation, however, remains an open question. How China relates to […]

Ankara and Baku: Much Closer Ties

By Alexandros Petersen

Alexandros Petersen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, was interviewed by Azerbaijan’s News.Az on the relations between Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.

Arctic Climate Change Strategy

By Derek Reveron

Strategy is a roadmap that individuals, organizations, and countries use to advance interests over time. At a minimum, strategy is designed to prevent anticipated tragedies (such as conflict over a disputed territory) or at least be prepare for when tragedy strikes (e.g., humanitarian assistance after an earthquake). When it comes to climate change, emerging strategies […]

Finishing The Job in Bosnia, Serbia, and Kosovo

By Kurt Volker

Remember Bosnia? Kosovo? In the 1990s, we learned a new phrase – ethnic cleansing – and we embarked on the first of what have now been many interventions in regional crises. Yet 15 years after the Serbian massacre of more than 7,000 Muslims at Srebrenica, we have still not finished the job of making the […]

Cut Short-Range Nukes, Too

By Ralston-Robertson-Miller-Schake

With the new START treaty and the Nuclear Posture Review accomplished, the Obama administration has an enormous opportunity to capitalize on its momentum. It should propose that NATO negotiate with Moscow to reduce the number of short-range nuclear weapons in Europe.

Nuclear Iran: Accepting the ‘Unacceptable’

By Harlan Ullman

Iran possessing nuclear weapons is “unacceptable,” a warning repeated by many heads of state and senior government officials. The same was said of North Korea,although it may have little more than a nuclear device and thus far lacks a means of delivery.

Turkey’s Pivotal Future

By Robert Manning

It wasn’t exactly Page 1 news last month when Turkey responded to a Congressional committee labeling the murder of Armenians a century ago “genocide” by freezing its diplomatic, defense and energy ties to the U.S.  

Maritime Disputes and International Law

By Derek Reveron

When looking at the earth from space, one fact is obvious: Water is the dominant feature. In fact, about 70 percent of the planet is covered by water and a significant portion of the earth is covered by frozen water in the Arctic and Antarctica. Water is so prevalent that the astronomer and writer Carl […]