Scowcroft Center Commentary & Analysis

Dempsey Calls for Innovation in Defense

By James Hasik

Keynote Address by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey Today, General Dempsey noted, is the forty-ninth anniversary of the founding of the long-defunct Warsaw Pact. Back then, in 1955, he was three years old. In 1975, as he noted, the Dempsey went to Germany to patrol the Czech border as a […]

The Gulf Rising: Defense Industrialization in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Dramatic changes in the world of defense, coupled with increasing political, financial, and fiscal pressures in the transatlantic community, have forced some of the most advanced US industrial allies and partners to make tough choices regarding their national defense programs, leaving them either more dependent on the United States or with capability shortages. Facing even […]

The Future of the US-Taiwan Relationship

Signed in 1979, the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) serves as the cornerstone of US-Taiwan relations. It guarantees crucial support for Taiwan’s security, economic prosperity, and democratization from the United States. The Atlantic Council celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of the TRA on Capitol Hill with a discussion on the future of the US-Taiwan relationship. Rep. Ed […]

Schissler: The “Transatlantic Link is Under Renovation”

Faced with a coercive Russia, declining defense resources, and additional contingencies in Europe’s east, how can NATO plan, deter against, and form a strategy to deal with these and other challenges? What does the future of NATO look like as it looks to adapt to face the challenges of individual empowerment and other global trends? […]

Arms and Influence in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi Get to Work Since the formation of the modern Arab state system in the mid-twentieth century, no Arab country has succeeded in building and sustaining an indigenous national defense industry. Egypt tried hard, but ultimately failed because it lacked the requisite financial and human capital. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq came closest, […]

Thomas Enders Delivers Remarks on the State of European Defense

“European defense is in an appalling state,” Thomas Enders, CEO of Airbus Group said during an Atlantic Council Captains of Industry event held immediately following the Council’s two-day Toward a Europe Whole & Free conference on April 30.

Barroso Discusses Europe’s Unity in Light of Ukraine Crisis, TTIP, and EU Elections

By Anni Piiparinen

Testing Europe’s Unity The Atlantic Council kicked off the second day of the conference “Toward a Europe Whole and Free” with a keynote conversation featuring José Manuel Durão Barroso, president of the European Commission. With the crisis in Ukraine unfolding, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations on the agenda, and the European Parliament […]

Defining a Strategy for Europe’s East

This special panel on Defining a Strategy for Europe’s East included national leaders from Lithuania, which hosted the last EU summit on the Eastern Partnership, and from Latvia, which will host the next Eastern Partnership summit in 2015.

Applying American Power in the 21st Century

As recent events have shown, the United States must find a more effective way to operate in the 21st century. War roils in the Middle East; trade talks are faltering or reaching intractable sticking points; and fiscal uncertainty erodes America’s economic and military power. The issues of today, as well as developments that are meeting […]