Americas

US Army to close almost all sites in two German cities

By DPA

From DPA:  The US Army said Wednesday it would close almost all its sites in two German cities, Heidelberg and Mannheim, where it has maintained bases since 1945.

Stephen Walt: “a large U.S. presence isn’t central to European security any longer”

By Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy

The merits of a Russian relationship

By John Kerry, Politico

From John Kerry, Politico:  One year ago, the Obama administration launched an initiative to “reset” relations with Russia. As Russian President Dmitri Medvedev lands in Washington Tuesday, it’s clear that the outreach — which carried significant diplomatic and political risk — is paying off. … The cornerstone of our new cooperation is a new strategic arms […]

Who best articulates why the Allies are in Afghanistan, Clinton or Espersen?

SECRETARY CLINTON:  Now, certainly, we know how hard this is and we believe that this is in our national security interest and the national security interest of our NATO allies and other partners who have voluntarily joined ISAF for this effort. No one likes war.

U.S.-Russia Relations Under the Obama Administration

By Philip H. Gordon, the Department of State

From Philip H. Gordon, the Department of State:  When President Obama came into office less than six months after the Georgia war, U.S.-Russian relations were at their lowest point in years and perhaps in the post-Cold War period.

U.S. Official: the Kyrgyz Government is Having “Trouble Exercising Command over the Security Forces”

By Clifford J. Levy, the New York Times

From Clifford J. Levy, the New York Times:  The provisional Kyrgyz government has lost control of large areas in the southern part of the country because of its failure to quell attacks that have killed at least several hundred ethnic Uzbeks, and possibly many more. As many as 400,000 have fled their homes. … On […]

Gates: Europe could face hundreds of Iranian missiles

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Citing the growing Iranian missile threat, the United States announced plans last September to integrate sea- and land-based missile defenses in and around its NATO allies in Europe, referred to as the "phased adaptive approach." "One of the elements of the intelligence that contributed to the decision on the phased adaptive array (approach) […]

Clinton: Reports of limits on U.S. missile defense deployments “Dead wrong”

By Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy

From Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy:  The Gertz story became a focus of the Senate Armed Services committee hearing Thursday with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and Joint Chiefs chairman Michael Mullen.

Missile defense deal?

By Bill Gertz, the Washington Times

From Bill Gertz, the Washington Times:  The Obama administration is secretly working with Russia to conclude an agreement that many officials fear will limit U.S. missile defenses, a key objective of Moscow since it opposed plans for a U.S. missile defense interceptor base in Eastern Europe, according to American officials involved in arms control issues.