United States and Canada

The Age of Gloom? Implications for Key NATO Armies

By Ben Barry, RUSI

From Ben Barry, RUSI:  [W]hilst the other two services can attack enemy land forces, only armies can defeat them.

A “No Drama” Leadership Transition in Qatar

By Richard LeBaron

It’s rare good news in the Middle East when a 61-year old leader hands over power to a 33-year old successor. Regardless of the specific timing and motives behind the abdication by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to his son Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, this peaceful and voluntary departure from the throne […]

Deputy Secretary General: NATO’s Burden Sharing Problem can no Longer be ‘Swept Under the Carpet’

By Alexander Vershbow, NATO

From Alexander Vershbow, NATO:  Our world today is very different from the one in which NATO was founded, well over six decades ago.

US-Iran cultural engagement: A cost effective boon to US national security

By Ramin Asgard and Barbara Slavin

This issue brief of the Atlantic Council’s Iran Task Force outlines the 179-year history of US contacts with Iran, which have experienced periods of breakdown but currently are continuing at a low level despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. It also recommends actions to advance these exchanges as a national security imperative—especially as the […]

US Secretly Providing Heavy Weapons Training for Syrian Rebels

By David S. Cloud and Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times

US Should Support Kosovo Joining NATO

By the Editors of the Washington Post

From the Editors of the Washington Post:  Hashim Thaci, onetime leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army and now the country’s prime minister, was in Washington last week to talk about an accord he reached with Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic to normalize the two countries’ relations.

President of Lithuania: Unilateral Nuclear Cuts Would Be Irresponsible

By 15min.lt

From 15min.lt:  The United States should not unilaterally reduce its arsenal of nuclear weapons or succumb to Russia during talks on the missile defense system in Europe, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė says.

Let Europe Defend Itself

By Sarwar Kashmeri and Jolyon Howorth, U.S. News & World Report

From Sarwar Kashmeri and Jolyon Howorth, U.S. News & World Report:  Twenty years ago the EU set up its Common Security and Defense Policy to create an autonomous military capability for Europe.

Time to Pull US Troops from Europe

By Sean Kay, Foreign Policy

From Sean Kay, Foreign Policy:  Impressions of European "free-riding" on the United States for military operations have been deepening in Congress and among the American public for years now.

US Forces Training for Potential Chemical Weapons Crisis in Syria

By Barbara Starr, CNN Security Clearance

From Barbara Starr, CNN Security Clearance:  Senior U.S. officials have said there is continuing concern that eventually some type of military units will be needed to go into Syria to take control of the [chemical] weapons. For more than a year, the United States has quietly trained Jordanian forces for that mission. But the Army’s […]