United States and Canada

U.S. Air Force assumes command of NATO Baltic air policing mission

By defpro.com

From defpro.com:  The 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, assumed command of the NATO Baltic air policing mission Sept. 1 from the Polish air force at Lithuania Air Force Air Base. For the next four months, the squadron, comprising approximately 125 people, is responsible for ensuring the air sovereignty of […]

NATO “no comment” on Russian warplane deal report

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  NATO declined to comment on Wednesday on a report saying it could use Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighters at a Cold War-era base in Iceland for training purposes. The Financial Times reported on Monday the Icelandic government is in talks on renting an airbase to a private company, ECA, that says it is […]

BNAC: Issues Concerning Effective Corporate Governance

It is two years since the financial services sector of many of the world’s leading economies were plunged into disarray. The uncertainty this generated meant that individual and institutional investors were very reluctant to participate in the financial markets resulting in a dramatic decline in asset values, credit becoming largely unavailable and, as a result, […]

The unraveling of central authority in Kyrgyzstan

By Andrew Higgins, the Washington Post

From Andrew Higgins, the Washington Post:  Beset by mounting casualties on the battlefield and deepening disquiet at home over America’s longest war, President Obama’s Afghan policy now faces another big headache: the unraveling of central authority in Kyrgyzstan

Will the European Union fall to nationalism?

By Charles Kupchan, the Washington Post

From Charles Kupchan, the Washington Post:  The European Union is dying — not a dramatic or sudden death, but one so slow and steady that we may look across the Atlantic one day soon and realize that the project of European integration that we’ve taken for granted over the past half-century is no more.

New Petraeus guidelines “might clash with timetables set by some NATO nations”

By Thom Shanker, the New York Times

From Thom Shanker, the New York Times:  Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in Afghanistan, has completed work on new guidelines for turning some security duties over to Afghan forces in the months ahead

SACEUR meets with Turkey’s leaders at key ceremony

By Adm. James Stavridis, U.S. European Command

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