United States and Canada

NATO secretary general not sure of success in Afghanistan

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti: “Victory in Afghanistan is not guaranteed, and NATO needs to change its strategy in the country, the alliance’s secretary general said Monday at a Washington-based think tank. “Despite everything that we have already done, reaching our goal in Afghanistan is not guaranteed,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen told an audience at the Atlantic Council. […]

Unilateralism Thrust Upon Us?

Anne Applebaum presents a provocative question in the Washington Post: Europe might have a new phone number, but when Obama calls, the person on the other end of the line will still be unable to act. “Europe” will not be a unified entity capable of coordinating a unified policy in Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, the […]

NATO and the Nuclear Umbrella

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: As early as 1987, NATO foreign ministers proposed significant reductions of short-range nuclear weapons in their Reykjavik declaration. And 15 years ago, when U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry developed the formula that there is no need and no plan to deploy nuclear weapons to new NATO member states, he correctly […]

Russian NATO Envoy Pours Cold Water on Transdnestr’s Missile Proposal

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti: Russia’s envoy to NATO has poured cold water on an offer by Moldova’s unrecognized republic of Transdnestr to deploy Russian missile defense elements… Russia’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said Transdnestr’s move to deploy Russian Iskander missiles could lead to a serious regional conflict, and added that there could be no talk […]

Moldovan Rebels Offer to Host Russian Missiles

By Reuters

From Reuters: Moldova’s rebel region of Transdniestria said on Monday it was ready to host Russian tactical missiles if the Kremlin were to ask, escalating growing tensions about defence between Moscow and Washington. NATO and European Union member Romania, which borders Moldova, this month approved a U.S. plan to deploy interceptor missiles which Washington says […]

Russia Seeks Quid Pro Quo to Rein Iran In

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: I talked to an international security and nuclear arms expert who spent most of a recent week speaking to Russian counterparts. He said there wasn’t a conversation that didn’t begin without a Russian’s saying something like, “The important thing these days is for NATO to make clear it is not […]

Russia’s NATO Envoy: Twit or Twitter?

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: Normally the formality of European diplomacy would be shattered if, say, an ambassador suggested that his country might kick its opponents’ posterior. But when the remark comes from Dmitri O. Rogozin, Russia’s bombastic ambassador to NATO, it tends to elicit at most a cringe. Even so, when Mr. Rogozin took […]

Albright to Moscow: No Spheres of Interest

By NATO

From NATO: For its part, NATO’s goals are to protect its members and to promote international stability, democracy, and the rule of law. We believe that every country should have the right to exercise its legitimate and sovereign rights – including the right to join or not to join an alliance. NATO will keep an […]

Russia Names NATO Expansion Missile Defense as National Threats

By Reuters

From Reuters: President Dmitry Medvedev approved Friday a new military doctrine identifying NATO expansion as a national threat and reaffirming Russia’s right to use nuclear weapons if the country’s existence is threatened. The doctrine identifies the expansion of NATO to Eastern Europe and U.S. plans to create an anti-missile shield in Europe as concerns for […]

START Negotiations “Stuck on the Anti-Missile Issue”

By AFP

From AFP: General Nikolai Makarov, chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, raised eyebrows in Washington by saying the START talks, which have dragged past several deadlines, were stuck on the anti-missile issue. Moscow has reportedly insisted that any new pact regulates both strategic offensive missiles and the anti-missile systems designed to thwart them, […]