United States and Canada

Turkey Strongly Leaning Toward Buying Chinese Missile Defense System

By Burak Ege Bekdil, Defense News

From Burak Ege Bekdil, Defense News:  Turkey is strongly leaning toward adopting a Chinese long-range anti-missile and air defense system, Turkish procurement officials said, even though it may be impossible to integrate the system with its existing NATO architecture.

US Official Defends Spending on NATO Missile Shield, Under GOP Attack

By Rachel Oswald, Global Security Newswire

From Rachel Oswald, Global Security Newswire:  A senior State Department official on Friday said that a ballistic missile shield being established in Europe would contribute to defending the U.S. homeland

Russia as a Balancing Power

By Sergei Karaganov, Russia in Global Affairs

From Sergei Karaganov, Russia in Global Affairs:  The growing outright rivalry between the United States and China gives Russia more foreign policy weight, enabling it to assume the role of a balancer.

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.