United States and Canada

Nuclear issue exposes rift in NATO strategy review

By Judy Dempsey, the New York Times

From Judy Dempsey, the New York Times:  Two months before what could be the most important NATO summit meeting in more than a decade, the 28 member states of the alliance have received a draft of its new strategic concept, which for the first time, at the insistence of Germany and other countries, includes calls […]

U.S. questions Turkey’s military exercise with China

By Zaman

CYBERCOM won’t be fully operational by Friday deadline

By Stars and Stripes

From Stars and Stripes:  U.S. Cyber Command will not be fully operational by Friday’s deadline, military officials revealed Wednesday. “I don’t know that the 1 October deadline is holding strong and fast,” Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Rene White said. Perhaps the biggest issue is defining what it means to be fully operational. “That’s a good […]

The White House’s Afghanistan defeatism

By Jackson Diehl, the Washington Post

From Jackson Diehl, the Washington Post:  One of the most remarkable aspects of Bob Woodward’s new book, "Obama’s Wars," is its portrait of a White House that has all but resigned itself to failure in Afghanistan.

Gates Fears Wider Gap Between Country and Military

By Elisabeth Bumiller, the New York Times

From Elisabeth Bumiller, the New York Times:  The United States is at risk of developing a cadre of military leaders who are cut off politically, culturally and geographically from the population they are sworn to protect, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told an audience at Duke University on Wednesday night.

Official: Germans, Brits behind Europe terror plot

By Asif Shahzad and Paisley Dodds, the AP

From Asif Shahzad and Paisley Dodds, the AP:  Eight Germans and two British brothers are at the heart of an al-Qaida-linked terror plot against European cities

European statesmen tell NATO to cut tactical nuclear weapons

By the European Leadership Network

From the European Leadership Network:  [It] is our firm view that at the Lisbon summit on 19 to 20 November 2010 NATO Leaders should include text in the new strategic concept that states the following:

CIA steps up drone attacks in Pakistan amid fear of al-Qaeda terror in Europe

By Greg Miller, the Washington Post

From Greg Miller, the Washington Post:  A sharply escalated campaign of CIA drone strikes in Pakistan is aimed in part at al-Qaeda units suspected of planning terrorist attacks on targets in Europe

NATO’s Relevance

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Yesterday’s gathering of scholars and policymakers, most of them Atlanticists from way back, were mostly at a loss for how to reignite NATO in the wake of Afghanistan.