United States and Canada

Russia is Playing a Weak Hand Very Strongly

A regular contributor to CNN.com, Ambassador-in-Residence Michael Oren writes that in both Syria and Iran, Russia has played its relatively weak strategic hand exceedingly well and is threatening to outmaneuver the United States in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the United States has paused its effots to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace in order to generate pressure on […]

Polish Foreign Minister: ‘We Cannot Let Putin Get Away With’ Annexation of Crimea

By Cristina Odone, Telegraph

Russia must not be allowed to redraw the map of Europe, Radek Sikorski, Poland’s Foreign Minister, tells the Telegraph ahead of a meeting with William Hague on Monday.

Sixteen Nations Participating in Norway’s Cold Response Military Exercise This Week

By Norwwegian Armed Forces

The main purpose of Cold Response is to train participants in how to conduct combat operations in cold weather conditions.

Obama Reaffirms US Commitment to Defend Baltic Allies

From the White House:  The President spoke separately with Prime Minister Cameron, President Hollande, and Prime Minister Renzi today about Ukraine.

Dempsey: US Military Will Fulfill Treaty Obligations to NATO Allies

By Ben Watson, Defense One

The U.S. military is prepared to back up NATO if the unrest in Ukraine escalates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said Friday.

Sweden and America Link Arms on Development Assistance

By Mark Brzezinski and Bjorn Lyrvall

If we asked a random sample of people what the world of 2030 might look like, what sorts of answers would we get? Amid predictions of advances in medicine, transportation and communications technology, we would no doubt expect some dire hypothetical scenarios: If population growth continues at current rates, if the gap in income equality […]

NATO Ambassadors Confront Russian Diplomat in ‘Tense’ Meeting

By Anne Gearan and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

A NATO diplomat, describing the [NATO-Russia Council] session as “tense,” said alliance members one by one confronted Alexander V. Grushko, Russia’s representative to NATO, with charges that Moscow was violating international law in Crimea and concocting threats against ethnic Russians there to justify its actions.

Break Up in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab

On March 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain announced that they had withdrawn their ambassadors from Qatar, claiming that Doha had been violating a clause in the Gulf Cooperation Council charter banning interference in the domestic affairs of fellow GCC members. The decision, unprecedented in the GCC’s history, hints at significant […]

Analyzing the New Defense Agenda

On March 4, the US Department of Defense released its Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the blueprint for defense spending and defense strategy over the course of the next four years. All eyes in Washington DC and beyond were on the 2014 QDR, as it comes at the end of the war in Afghanistan, the rise […]

President Obama’s Foreign Policy is Based on Fantasy

By Editorial Board of the Washington Post

For five years, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality.