Americas

America’s Historical Amnesia

By Harlan Ullman

Karl Marx mused that history first appears as tragedy and then as farce. That may not apply to the United States, as Americans are too often amnesia-prone when it comes to history. Americans’ ability to ignore or forget history is legion. Three cases underscore this point.

Syria: Defending the Indefensible

By Frederic C. Hof

Recent testimony by US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey illustrated quite nicely one outcome of a troubled interagency national security system: US senators seemed to be more perplexed about American policy toward Syria after the hearing than they were before.

Senate confirms Breedlove as NATO’s new Supreme Allied Commander Europe

By Allied Command Operations

From Allied Command Operations:  U.S. Air Force General Philip M. Breedlove was confirmed by the United States Senate as NATO’s next Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)

Lyndon W. Obama

By Harlan Ullman

The shadow of North Korea’s latest provocations for the moment has obscured Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Another war on the Korean Peninsula would be a disaster for the Korean people even though the military defeat of the North that is sure to follow would no doubt end the Kim ruling dynasty.

General Gurganus: There’s Still More to Do in Afghanistan

With ISAF’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 fast approaching, it is useful to look back and see what failures and successes there have been. Have certain challenges been overcome? How do the Afghans see ISAF’s mission? On April 17, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted Major General Charles Gurganus, commanding general, […]

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Ambitious but Achievable

By Garrett Workman and Tyson Barker

As leaders in the United States and Europe prepare for the formal launch of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks, the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Atlantic Council have conducted a survey of trade policy experts from the public and private sectors on both sides of the Atlantic to gauge their expectations for the results […]

Obama Played it Safe in Israel

By Ana Palacio

Now that the dust has settled on President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated trip to Israel, it is possible to analyse the significance of the visit. The trip — the first foreign visit of his second term — carries important implications for US foreign policy. Rather than providing the breakthrough for which many had hoped, it demonstrated […]

Hagel’s Three Questions

By James Joyner

Chuck Hagel recently delivered his first major public-policy address since becoming secretary of defense. While the bulk of his speech at the National Defense University focused on the need to overhaul our spending priorities radically, a nod to the military officers in the audience caught my attention: