FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

US Seeks Allies as UK Shuns Syria Action in Shock Vote

New Atlanticist
Sep 19, 2025

Three things to note in the UK’s new Defence Industrial Strategy

By
Deborah Cheverton

“Defence is an Engine for Growth,” according to an important new British military strategy published on September 8.

Defense Industry
Defense Policy

US Seeks Allies as UK Shuns Syria Action in Shock Vote

New Atlanticist
Jul 17, 2025

Macron and Starmer have a plan to reset Anglo-French relations. What’s in this ‘Entente Industrielle’?

By
Philippe Dickinson

The French president’s three-day trip to the United Kingdom saw several notable and welcome announcements. But the real test will be what comes next.

Defense Industry
France

US Seeks Allies as UK Shuns Syria Action in Shock Vote

New Atlanticist
Jun 4, 2025

The UK Strategic Defence Review lays out an ambitious roadmap for reform. Will the government deliver?

By
AM Sir Christopher Harper, KBE, RAF (Ret.)

The review is a positive step toward revitalizing the United Kingdom’s defense posture, but its success will depend on funding and follow-through.

Conflict
Defense Industry

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President Barack Obama

NATOSource

Aug 30, 2013

US Seeks Allies as UK Shuns Syria Action in Shock Vote

By Lorna Shaddick, FRANCE 24

The United States is still seeking an “international coalition” in response to Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons, despite a vote against military action by British MPs, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Friday.

France Syria
President of France Francois Hollande

NATOSource

Aug 30, 2013

Despite UK Vote, France Backs Action in Syria

By David Gauthier-Villars, Wall Street Journal

France sent a clear signal on Friday that it was preparing strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, with President François Hollande saying the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people cannot go unpunished.

France International Organizations
British Prime Minister David Cameron

NATOSource

Aug 30, 2013

UK Prime Minister David Cameron Loses Parliamentary Vote on Syrian Military Strike

By Anthony Faiola, Washington Post

Invoking the specter of the Iraq war, British lawmakers on Thursday rejected military action in Syria, dealing a stunning blow to Prime Minister David Cameron and effectively ruling Washington’s staunchest military ally out of any U.S.-led strike.

Syria United Kingdom
UK Foreign Minister William Hague

NATOSource

Aug 29, 2013

UK Foreign Minister: ‘We Cannot Allow the Use of Chemical Weapons’

By William Hague, Telegraph

We all live under the protection of this global system of arms control, just as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has spared us from the threat of nuclear holocaust, which blighted my parents’ generation.

Syria United Kingdom
USAF KC-135R Stratotanker at Incirlik air base

NATOSource

Aug 28, 2013

Turkey may Open İncirlik Base for NATO Mission in Syria

By Murat Yetkin, Hurriyet Daily News

Turkey may open its strategic İncirlik air base for possible military operations into neighboring Syria, if the Western defense alliance NATO decides for an intervention in the ongoing civil war, a ranking Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News on Aug. 26.

France Germany
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

NATOSource

Aug 26, 2013

Syria: Russia Dooms Hopes of UN Security Council Resolution

By Raf Sanchez and Roland Oliphant, Telegraph

As the US, Britain and France edged closer to approving strikes in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons, the Kremlin said that the West was moving down “a very dangerous path.”

France International Organizations
Meeting of the North Atlantic Council

NATOSource

Aug 26, 2013

NATO Members Could Act Against Syria Without UN Mandate

By Ian Traynor, Guardian

Barack Obama is unlikely to have much trouble mustering a Nato coalition of the willing if Washington opts for military intervention in Syria in response to the alleged chemical weapons atrocities by the Assad regime.

France Germany
Royal Australian Air Force Airbus A-330-200 MRTT

NATOSource

Aug 19, 2013

America Pivots to Asia; Europe Arms It

By Robbin F. Laird, Diplomat

A neglected aspect of the analysis of the evolution of Asian defense and security is the contribution of the European defense industry. . . .

Europe & Eurasia Indo-Pacific
Poland has made modernization of its armed forces a priority

NATOSource

Aug 16, 2013

Concerned About Allies Cutting Military Capabilities, Poland Strengthens its Defense Forces

By Economist

Having weathered the past five years better than most—the economy has grown by a fifth since 2009—and imposed tight spending limits on most departments, the centre-right government of Donald Tusk, re-elected in 2011, has made modernising the armed forces a priority.

Missile Defense NATO

New Atlanticist

Aug 16, 2013

Gibraltar–Rock of Rages

By Julian Lindley French

Article X of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht is pretty unequivocal. “The Catholic King does hereby, for himself, his heirs and successors, yield to the Crown of Great Britain the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging; and he gives up the […]

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Lisa Aronsson

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Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

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Robert Bassett Cross MC

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Industry Defense Policy

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James Batchik

Associate Director

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Head of Sustainability, Smart DCC

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Deborah Cheverton

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Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

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