United States and Canada

U.S., British troops to train with Kazakh forces

By Robin Paxton, Reuters

From Robin Paxton, Reuters:  British and U.S. troops will join Kazakh forces for 10 days of military exercises from Monday, culminating in a mock peacekeeping operation to strengthen links between the three countries on Central Asian soil. More than 1,000 military personnel, including a large contingent from the air mobile force of the Kazakh armed […]

Strategies for a Cybered World

By Chris Demchak

In, “Conflicting Policy Presumptions about Cybersecurity: Cyber-Prophets, -Priests, -Detectives, and -Designers, and Strategies for a Cybered World,” U.S. Naval War College professor Chris Demchak examines the strategic assumptions of cyberspace and the nature of the cyber threat. Dr. Demchak identifies a set of “cyber communities” and recommends a way ahead to reach consensus on organizing […]

US informs Europe: “We don’t feel the need to profess love”

By Daniel Dombey, the Financial Times

Is Obama improving security in Central and Eastern Europe?

By the Economist

From the Economist:  Listen to critics of Barack Obama’s administration and the story of American policy in eastern Europe is of a grand betrayal, featuring the binning of a promised missile-defence system, the freezing of NATO enlargement and the headlong pursuit of better ties with Russia. The facts are rather different. The single biggest security […]

EU envoy to US flaunts new powers

By Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver

From Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver:  The EU’s new ambassador to the US, Joao Vale de Almeida, has underlined the new powers conferred on EU envoys by the Lisbon Treaty while taking up his post in Washington. In a series of interviews to US-based press on Tuesday (10 August), the ambassador noted that he is empowered […]

Pentagon seeks information on deployment of Russian missiles in Abhazia

By Dmitry Solovyov, Reuters

From Dmitry Solovyov, Reuters:   Russia said on Wednesday it had deployed high-precision air defence missiles in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, sending a defiant signal to Tbilisi and the West two years after a war with Georgia.

White House reveals “two-year rule” and its impact on withdrawal from Afghanistan

By Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper and David Sanger, the New York Times

From Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper and David Sanger, the New York Times:  American military officials are building a case to minimize the planned withdrawal of some troops from Afghanistan starting next summer, in an effort to counter growing pressure on President Obama from inside his own party to begin winding the war down quickly.

ISAF trains 240,000 Afghan troops three months ahead of schedule

By Jim Michaels, USA Today

From Jim Michaels, USA Today:  NATO has reached its goal of expanding the size of Afghanistan’s army and police to 240,000 three months ahead of schedule, achieving a key measurement that will be used to gauge progress in the war. The size and quality of Afghan security forces will be a central part of a […]

U.S. to establish training center for Kyrgyz security service, not military base

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  The United States does not plan on opening another military base in Kyrgyzstan, but will likely set up a training center for Kyrgyz security services instead, U.S. Ambassador to Kygyzstan, Tatiana Gfoeller said on Wednesday. On August 7, Washington Post said the United States is planning to move ahead with construction of […]