United States and Canada

New Chapter of Russian Spy Cases Against NATO and its Members.

The Russian news service Interfax announced today that Moscow has expelled two Czech diplomats in an apparent tit-for-tat for yesterday’s reported expulsion of two Russian diplomats by the Czech Republic. A Russian official argued that, “this unfriendly act by the Czech side, which declared two of our diplomats ‘persona non grata’, could not be left […]

Russia expels two Czech diplomats in spy row

By Reuters

From Reuters: Russia has ordered two Czech diplomats out of Russia, Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, in a spying row between two countries at odds over U.S. plans to install an anti-missile system in Europe. The expulsion follows Czech media reports on Monday that two Russians had been ordered out of Prague, including a […]

V Corps to endure as new ISAF command in Afghanistan

By Stars and Stripes

From Stars and Stripes: The renewed war effort in Afghanistan means V Corps, recently headed for oblivion, will live to fight another day. The Heidelberg-based corps would make up the staff of a new command overseeing day-to-day operations in Afghanistan for the next year, and officials said the corps could be staffed there for the […]

Firing General McKiernan was right, but as for the reasons

By Peter Feaver at foreignpolicy.com

From Peter Feaver at foreignpolicy.com: In other words, McKiernan got the sack because he was unable to get NATO to step up to the plate more smartly. Since McKiernan left, of course, the home-town presses in all of the NATO countries have been replete with stories about how costly their Afghan burden has been. I […]

NATO Approves Intermediate Headquarters for Afghanistan

By the U.S. Department of Defense

From the U.S. Department of Defense: NATO has approved the idea of an intermediate military headquarters in Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said today. The headquarters is a corps-level organization that will oversee the tactical, day-to-day operations in the country. U.S. officials would like to see Army Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, deputy commander of U.S. Forces […]

U.S. to Resume Training Georgian Troops

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: The United States is resuming a combat training mission in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to prepare its army for counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan, despite the risks of angering Russia, senior Defense Department officials said Thursday . . . “This training mission is not about internal defenses or any […]

Turkey and Russia: Old rivals, new partners

By the Economist

From the Economist: An alliance of convenience that arouses some suspicion in the West Through the long Ottoman era, Turks and Russians fought many bloody wars. In modern times Turkey guarded NATO’s southern flank against Soviet mischief. “The Russians are treacherous” is a popular Turkish adage. But one would hardly have guessed it as the […]

US-Russia stand-off looms as Moscow announces expansion of military bases

By the Guardian

From the Guardian: The prospect of a US-Russian naval stand-off in the Black Sea loomed today after Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would spend nearly half a billion dollars next year beefing up military bases in Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia. Much of the money is expected to fund construction of a new naval base […]

Moscow Signals Widening Rift With Ukraine

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: The Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, assailed his Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday, blaming him for anti-Russian policies that he said have brought relations between the two countries to “unprecedented lows.” In a letter to President Viktor A. Yushchenko of Ukraine, Mr. Medvedev announced that Russia would not dispatch its new […]

One year on: Georgia rebounds from war with Russia

By the Telegraph

From the Telegraph: In violation of the peace agreement signed by President Medvedev, over 10,000 Russian troops remain in these two Georgian territories. Their presence is more threatening now that Russia has blocked the extension of neutral UN and OSCE monitors whose mission was to safeguard human rights and observe troop movements . . . […]