United States and Canada

Duma Will Not Ratify Arms Treaty if Link to Missile Defense Omitted – Gryzlov

By Interfax

From Interfax:  Russian State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said the Duma would not ratify the new strategic arms treaty with the United States if it does not seal the link with missile defense. "State Duma deputies participate in the drafting of the START-II treaty. We will not ratify it, if it does not take into […]

U.S. Decision on Modernization of Nuclear Weapons Impacts Arsenal in Europe

By Spiegel

From Spiegel:  Germany’s foreign minister has called for the removal of Cold War legacy nuclear weapons being stored here, but some in Washington may have other plans. The US Department of Energy is requesting a budget of close to $2 billion to modernize the country’s oldest models of nuclear weapons, including those being kept in […]

US Cautious on Removing Nuclear Arms from Europe

By the AP

From the AP:  Some officials in Germany and other U.S. allies in Europe are advocating a withdrawal, citing President Barack Obama’s call last year for a nuclear-free world. But the U.S. is putting off an early decision, preferring to consult within NATO, starting at a meeting of foreign ministers in April that Secretary of State […]

Rising Piracy May Prompt More Joint Naval Action-NATO

By Reuters

From Reuters:  The number and scope of pirate attacks is seen increasing worldwide and could trigger more joint military operations to keep shipping lanes safe, a top NATO official said.

4 NATO Jets Trail 2 Russian Bombers Over Arctic, Atlantic

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers that carried out a routine patrol mission over the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans were shadowed by four NATO fighters, the Defense Ministry said on Friday. Spokesman Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said the bombers spent about 11 hours in the air on Thursday and were "accompanied" by […]

Will the US Become More Active in the Arctic?

By atlantic-community.org

From atlantic-community.org:  [B]y the very end of the Bush presidency, the administration issued a presidential directive on Arctic Region Policy, to update US assessments of the north. In this directive, the administration underlined that the United States has broad and fundamental national security interests as well as fundamental homeland security interests in the Arctic. The […]

NATO’s Anti-Piracy Mission Extended Through 2012

By NATO

From NATO:  The North Atlantic Council has decided to extend NATO’s anti-piracy mission through 2012. This is based on the assessment that this mission is making a demonstrable contribution to increase safety for shipping and reduces success rates for pirates. While the number of attacks in 2009 was up over the number of attacks in […]

Russia will not Accept U.S. Threat to its Nuclear Deterrent – Lavrov

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russia can not allow U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile shield in Europe to threaten the effectiveness of its nuclear deterrent, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. U.S. officials admit that the missile defense system in Europe might be able to hit Russian inter-continental ballistic missiles by 2020. […]

U.S.-Iran Relations: Policy Compendium

This Compendium contains the text of major regulations, laws, and other documents governing U.S. interactions with Iran. Also provided are the text of U.N. Security Council Resolutions, agreements between Iran and several other countries on various issues, and other documents that represent major policy decisions in U.S. relations with Iran.  The publication was launched at […]

Transatlantic Relations in Obama’s “Post-Western World”

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: The Obama presidency has been a shock to Europe. At heart, Obama is not a Westerner, not an Atlanticist. He grew up partly in Indonesia and partly in Hawaii, which is about as far from the East Coast as you can get in the United States. “He’s very much a […]