United States and Canada

Deciding on an OSCE Summit

In the issue brief “Behind the Eight Ball: Deciding on an OSCE Summit,” co-authored by the Chairman of the task force, Senator Chuck Hagel, Patriciu Eurasia Center Director Ross Wilson, and Vice President and International Security Program Director Damon Wilson argue that the U.S. focus on Central Asia since 9/11 through the prism of the […]

Uncertain Kyrgyzstan: Rebalancing US policy

The international community is failing to respond in ways commensurate with the crisis

European Union, U.S. to share banking data to fight terrorism

By Ellen Nakashima, the Washington Post

From Ellen Nakashima, the Washington Post:  The European Union has reached an agreement with the United States that will allow European bank data to continue to be shared for counterterrorism purposes, but only after liberal members of parliament secured stronger privacy guarantees.

The buildup of soldiers in Afghanistan is beginning to show results, NATO says

By Thom Shanker and Alissa Rubin, the New York Times

From Thom Shanker and Alissa Rubin, the New York Times:  Despite deepening pessimism back home and disarray in the top American military ranks, officials insist that the buildup of soldiers in Afghanistan is beginning to show results: Commando raids over the last four months have taken scores of insurgent leaders out of action, in a […]

Would Biden’s alternative strategy work?

By Ross Douthat, the New York Times

From Ross Douthat, the New York Times: But if the current counterinsurgency campaign collapses, it almost guarantees that some kind of American military presence will be propping up some sort of Afghan state in 2020 and beyond. Failure promises to trap us; success is our only ticket out.

Petraeus: Withdrawal timeline does not mean “switching off the lights”

By Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy

From Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy:  When General David Petraeus testifies today on Capitol Hill, his main job will be to carefully define the timeline for the beginning of America’s exit from Afghanistan, a timeline that has stakeholders in Washington and throughout the region confused and concerned.

Cyprus bails suspect in U.S.-Russia spy case

By Reuters

From Reuters: A man suspected of being the 11th member of a U.S. spy ring allegedly working for Russia has been arrested and released on bail in Cyprus, police said on Tuesday. Robert Christopher Metsos, 55, was arrested at Cyprus’s Larnaca airport as he tried to leave the island for Budapest early on Tuesday, police […]

Nato end date ‘plays into hands’ of Taliban

By James Blitz and Frederick Studemann, the Financial Times

From James Blitz and Frederick Studemann, the Financial Times: Germany’s defence minister insisted on Monday that Nato must resist setting an end date for the international mission in Afghanistan, despite commitments by Canada, the Netherlands and Poland to withdraw forces within the next two years.

10 alleged Russian secret agents arrested in US

By Pete Yost, the AP

From Pete Yost, the AP:  Ten people have been arrested for allegedly serving as secret agents of the Russian government with the goal of penetrating U.S. government policymaking circles . The Justice Department announced the arrests Monday. According to court papers in the case, the U.S. government intercepted a message from Russian intelligence headquarters in […]

Pakistan in the danger zone

By Shuja Nawaz

The Atlantic Council presents the executive summary from its new report, Pakistan in the Danger Zone: a Tenuous U.S.-Pakistan Relationship by Shuja Nawaz, Director of the Council’s South Asia Center. The Afghanistan war may be lost on the battlefields of Pakistan, where a vicious conflict is now being fought by Pakistan against a homegrown insurgency […]