United States and Canada

ISAF briefing reveals 365 Taliban leaders killed in last three months

By Matthias Gebauer, der Speigel

From Matthias Gebauer, der Speigel: The international troops in Afghanistan this year, under the command of the United States, have massively stepped up the hunt for top Taliban by special forces. The units, which operate secretly and are kept apart from the normal troops, have conducted hundreds of operations in recent months in an intensity not […]

Canada intercepts two Russian bombers

By Rob Gillies, the AP

NATO allies have key role in new Pentagon Cyber Security Strategy

By David Ignatius, the Washington Post

From David Ignatius, the Washington Post:   With little fanfare, the Pentagon is putting the finishing touches on a new strategy that will treat cyberspace as a domain of potential warfare — and apply instant "active defense" to counterattacks that, in theory, could shut down the nation’s transportation and commerce.

2008 Attack on CENTCOM Computers Is Confirmed

By Brian Knowlton, the New York Times

From Brian Knowlton, the New York Times:  A top Pentagon official has confirmed a previously classified incident that he describes as “the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever

Petraeus: July 2011 deadline not the start of sudden troop exodus from Afghanistan

By David Stringer, the AP

From David Stringer, the AP:  In an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. television, Army Gen. David Petraeus urged caution over hopes for the planned pullback of American troops, which is scheduled to begin in July 2011.

Ankara tells US it won’t adhere to new sanctions on Iran

By Zaman

From Zaman:  Turkish officials have told an American delegation that it has no intention of following unilateral US sanctions on Iran, a move likely to deepen a rift between the two NATO allies over the Islamic republic’s contentious nuclear program that Washington believes is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Turkish and American officials have confirmed […]

Why Europe fears Petraeus’s urge to surge

By Ahmed Rashid, the Financial Times

From Ahmed Rashid, the Financial Times:  For weeks there has been a spectre haunting European corridors of power. That spectre is [Gen.] David Petraeus. Since he stepped in last month as head of combined US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, many European governments have feared the US general would try and extend the time and […]

Iceland should keep its faith in NATO

By Vera Knútsdóttir, the Guardian

From Vera Knútsdóttir, the Guardian:  Formal talks on Iceland’s accession to the European Union started on 27 July, spurring heated debates between the pro-EU and anti-EU camps. Some of the more optimistic EU advocates believe that once Iceland joins the EU there will be no need for Iceland to stay in Nato. … These optimists […]

Macedonia Vacillates on NATO Commitment

By Slobodanka Jovanovska, BBC via Investors Business Daily: The pillar of Macedonian foreign policy over the past two decades, that is, the good relations with the United States, has begun to fall apart against the blows of the patriotic fight for the state’s name.

White House denies Turkey arms ultimatum

By Laura Rozen, Politico

From Laura Rozen, Politico:  The White House denied a report Monday that the U.S. has threatened Turkey with potentially withholding future arms sales because of its tougher stance towards Israel and vote against U.N. Iran sanctions. Obama “emphatically denied” a Financial Times story saying the president had told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that […]