United States and Canada

NATO intel chief in Afghanistan leaving for new post

By Kimberly Dozier and Anne Gearan, the AP

From Kimberly Dozier and Anne Gearan, the AP:  The top U.S. and NATO intelligence officer in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn, is moving to a senior intelligence job in Washington, two defense officials said Thursday. Army spokesman Col. Thomas Collins confirmed Flynn would be taking up a new post but would not specify it because […]

French General Receives Reprimand for Criticizing US Strategy in Afghanistan

By Le Monde

Clinton to Europe: “we are always strongest when we work together”

By Hillary Clinton, the Council on Foreign Relations

From Hillary Clinton, the Council on Foreign Relations:  As Dean Acheson put it in 1951, the ability to evoke support from others is quite as important as the capacity to compel.

Uncoordinated Defense cuts threaten NATO’s future

By Tomas Valasek, the Wall Street Journal

From Tomas Valasek, the Wall Street Journal:  As European governments rein in spending, defense budgets are falling, often dramatically. Germany plans to cut its armed forces by a third and the U.K. wants to reduce military spending by as much as 20%.

Post-Obama meeting, NATO chief discusses “transition dividend”

By Anna Mulrine, the Christian Science Monitor

From Anna Mulrine, the Christian Science Monitor:  Tuesday, as [NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh] Rasmussen arrived in Washington to meet with Obama in advance of a November NATO summit, the NATO Secretary General seemed to take this idea a step further, that even “if we transition a province here and there,” soldiers in the area “cannot […]

NATO: A Fat, Bloated, Job Creation Project?

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Lost amidst the welcome news of British-French cooperation on military cost-sharing in some tough talk from their ministers of defense on NATO. Last week, I noted that the FT‘s superb reporter Ben Hall buried the lead, waiting until the 13th paragraph of a story to pass along Liam Fox‘s pronouncement […]

Deployment of Russian S-300 missiles in Abkhazia no threat to region – Kouchner

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  The deployment of Russia’s S-300 air defense systems in Abkhazia does not disturb the balance of power in the region, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Tuesday. "What Russia has deployed in Abkhazia are anti-missile systems, and I don’t see any serious disturbance to the balance in the region," Kouchner said […]

Putin reset on the “sincerity of President Obama”

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday he was convinced of the sincerity of U.S. President Barack Obama’s moves to develop relations with Russia. "We give the initiatives of the U.S. administration great attention," Putin said at a meeting with members of the Valdai International Discussion Club. "I am convinced in […]

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 […]