United States and Canada

NATO needs to brace for spike in casualties-Britain

By Adam Entous, Reuters

From Adam Entous, Reuters: Britain’s defense secretary warned NATO allies on Wednesday against prematurely withdrawing forces from Afghanistan and said they should prepare their war-weary publics for a spike in coalition casualties.

U.S. Official: ‘We have No Arms Embargo on Georgia’

By Civil Georgia

NATO retools in a key mission: Building an Afghan police force

By Joby Warrick, the Washington Post

From Joby Warrick, the Washington Post:  The alliance is shaking up existing training programs and adding new incentives in an attempt to turn around what has been one of the biggest, most enduring disappointments of the nearly nine-year-old war: the inability to transform the country’s 90,000 police officers into a professional force capable of assuming […]

The deadliest month for NATO in nine years of conflict

By AFP

From AFP: An Afghan UN employee was killed when his vehicle came under fire in Kabul Tuesday, as the toll for foreign troops rose to 100 in June, the deadliest month for NATO in nine years of conflict.

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.