Indo-Pacific

Chinese Air Defenses in Turkey a ‘Virus’ for NATO

By Burak Bekdil, Hurriyet

Defense officials from NATO member states have described any potential Turkish effort to integrate China-made long-range air and anti-missile defense system into NATO’s overall air defense architecture as a “virus” within the allied system and a “possibly most futile effort.”

Scowcroft Center Launches Report in China

The Brent Scowcroft Center’s Strategic Foresight Initiative launched their recent report China-US Cooperation: Key to the Global Future at an event in Bejing. The report was published in partnership with the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) and supported by the China-United States Exchange Foundation. An impressive group of speakers and panelists participated in the […]

US-China: A New Model of Great Power Relations

By Stephen J. Hadley

This week Atlantic Council board director Stephen J. Hadley, principal at RiceHadleyGates and former national security adviser to President George W. Bush, delivered a lecture at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy on the future of the US-China relationship. The full text of his remarks are below.

NATO Chief Rebukes Karzai, Defends Afghan Progress

By AP and NATO

From AP:  NATO’s secretary-general has sharply rejected Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s view that the presence of international troops in his country caused much suffering but achieved few gains.

The New Silk Road Project: A New Strategy?

The Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center and the Central Asia Caucasus Institute held a vibrant discussion with Afghanistan’s Central Bank Governor Noorullah Delawari on the new transit and trade infrastructure that is debuting across Eurasia: the New Silk Road. This new commercial architecture aims to support Afghanistan’s economic, political, and security transitions by developing […]

Finance Minister Dar on Pakistan’s Continuing Economic Challenges

On October 9, the South Asia Center hosted Ishaq Dar, finance minister of Pakistan, for an event entitled “Pakistan’s Continuing Economic Challenges.” 

Lavrov: Afghanistan Not Ready for NATO Forces Pullout

By RIA Novosti

The development of the situation in Afghanistan clearly shows that Afghan security forces will not be in position to take control of law and order in the war-torn country after the withdrawal of NATO-led forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Karzai says Taliban No Threat to Women, NATO Created ‘No Gains’ for Afghanistan

By Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

Afghan President Hamid Karzai marked the 12th anniversary of the US-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan that dislodged the Taliban from power and ended up installing him as leader by saying that Afghan women have nothing to fear from a return of Taliban influence

A Necessary Transition in Pakistan

By Shuja Nawaz

In an historic moment this weekend, Pakistan’s two-term army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani announced that he would retire at the end of November after six years at the helm. An official later stated that Kayani would not seek any other job after retirement, putting an end to speculation in Pakistan that Kayani may stay on in […]

China Dismisses Worries over Turkey Missile Deal

By Ben Blanchard, Reuters

China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed concerns about Turkey’s decision to co-produce a missile defense system with a Chinese firm, saying on Tuesday that the United States and others were needlessly politicizing a purely commercial deal.