Americas

Europe and Benign Neglect

By Roger Cohen, the New York Times

From Roger Cohen, the New York Times:  “Europe is the object of benign U.S. neglect,” said Camille Grand, a prominent Paris-based defense analyst. “Obama has not established or re-established a strategic relationship with any single European country or with Europe as a whole.”

Why is the U.S. anti-war movement losing support?

By Abby Phillip, Politico

From Abby Phillip, Politico:  As President Barack Obama formally declared an end to combat operations in Iraq this week, the anti-war movement that helped sweep him into office — and that worked for seven years to bring U.S. troops home — finds itself struggling for survival. Several factors — war fatigue; a deep, lingering recession; and the presence […]

Obama to meet with NATO Secretary General

By Press Secretary, the White House

From Press Secretary, the White House:  President Obama will welcome the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to the White House on September 7, 2010.

Gates clarifies July deadline and Petraeus discloses data

By Adam Ellick and Sangar Rahimi, the New York Times

From Adam Ellick and Sangar Rahimi, the New York Times: [U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert] Gates took the opportunity to repeat assurances that President Obama’s deadline to begin withdrawing troops was flexible.

U.S. Air Force assumes command of NATO Baltic air policing mission

By defpro.com

From defpro.com:  The 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, assumed command of the NATO Baltic air policing mission Sept. 1 from the Polish air force at Lithuania Air Force Air Base. For the next four months, the squadron, comprising approximately 125 people, is responsible for ensuring the air sovereignty of […]

NATO “no comment” on Russian warplane deal report

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  NATO declined to comment on Wednesday on a report saying it could use Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighters at a Cold War-era base in Iceland for training purposes. The Financial Times reported on Monday the Icelandic government is in talks on renting an airbase to a private company, ECA, that says it is […]

BNAC: Issues Concerning Effective Corporate Governance

It is two years since the financial services sector of many of the world’s leading economies were plunged into disarray. The uncertainty this generated meant that individual and institutional investors were very reluctant to participate in the financial markets resulting in a dramatic decline in asset values, credit becoming largely unavailable and, as a result, […]

The unraveling of central authority in Kyrgyzstan

By Andrew Higgins, the Washington Post

From Andrew Higgins, the Washington Post:  Beset by mounting casualties on the battlefield and deepening disquiet at home over America’s longest war, President Obama’s Afghan policy now faces another big headache: the unraveling of central authority in Kyrgyzstan

Will the European Union fall to nationalism?

By Charles Kupchan, the Washington Post

From Charles Kupchan, the Washington Post:  The European Union is dying — not a dramatic or sudden death, but one so slow and steady that we may look across the Atlantic one day soon and realize that the project of European integration that we’ve taken for granted over the past half-century is no more.