United States and Canada

Wilson Center honors Turkish foreign minister with “Public Service Award”

By Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy

From Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy:  The U.S. taxpayer-funded Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, led by former Congressman Lee Hamilton, is giving out its annual award for public service Thursday, and the winner is … Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu! Davutaoglu "personifies the attributes we seek to honor at the Woodrow Wilson Center," Hamilton said […]

Major naval exercise set for Atlantic region

By Canada.com

Turkey’s Choice of Allies

By Thomas Friedman, the New York Times

From Thomas Friedman, the New York Times: As one Turkish foreign policy analyst said to me: “We are not mediating between East and West anymore. We’ve become spokesmen for the most regressive elements in the East.” Finally, there is a vacuum inside Turkey. The secular opposition parties have been in disarray most of the decade, the […]

“Europe is Anything but an Equal Partner in the Transatlantic Relationship”

By Ana Palacios, the American Interest

From Ana Palacios, the American Interest:  But even as the glitz and glitter of celebrity culture politics seemed to define the Transatlantic mood, a deeper reality was dawning on Europeans who were paying attention to substance instead of spectacle. Obama remained an American President, protecting American interests, as he faced one of the most challenging […]

Kyrgyzstan: A Test for Mutual Security

By James F. Collins and Matthew Rojansky, the New York Times

From James F. Collins and Matthew Rojansky, the New York Times:  The crisis in Kyrgyzstan presents an opportunity for three multilateral groups working in the area — NATO, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (C.S.T.O., an alliance of seven former Soviet states currently chaired by Armenia), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (O.S.C.E.) […]

US Marines storm Estonian beachhead in exercise

By AP

From AP:  United States Marines are conducting their first amphibious landing exercise in a territory that was once part of the Soviet Union. In Tuesday’s joint military exercise some 130 combat-ready marines, along with Estonian troops, disembarked from the transport vessel USS Gunston Hall to occupy a beach near the town of Loksa on Estonia’s […]

Obama tells Cameron BP criticism is not anti-British

By Deutsche Welle

From Deutsche Welle:  US President Barack Obama assured British Prime Minister David Cameron in a telephone conversation on Saturday that his criticism of BP’s handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not about national identity. US President Barack Obama told British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday that his frustration over […]

Kyrgyzstan Requested U.S. Military Aid and Rubber Bullets but was Turned Down

By Steve LeVine, Foreign Policy

From Steve LeVine, Foreign Policy:  Before Kyrgyzstan turned to Russia, it informally asked Washington for military assistance including a supply of rubber bullets to quell ethnic bloodletting in the south of the country, but was turned down, I am told by people privy to the situation.

Polish General Appointed Top NATO Post

By Polskie Radio

From Polskie Radio: Lt General Mieczyslaw Bieniek is to be deputy commander at NATO headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, US – the highest position a Pole has attained within the Atlantic alliance. Defence Minister Bogdan Klich, refused to confirm the position simply however, saying a decision will be made "soon." The PAP news agency reports that initially, Gen. […]

A Casualty of Reset Relations

By Owen Matthews, Newsweek