United States and Canada

Ukraine’s Troubling Trends

By Hillary Rodham Clinton and Catherine Ashton, New York Times

From Hillary Rodham Clinton and Catherine Ashton, New York Times:  Ukraine now stands at an important juncture.

Hague: If EU completed free trade negotiations, ‘GDP could be increased by up to $77 billion a year’

By William Hague, British Foreign Ministry

From William Hague, British Foreign Ministry:  Many European economies are stagnant. Weak public finances, and a recovering financial system mean we cannot rely on increased public or consumer spending for growth.

Turkey Disappointed With Obama’s Syria Policy

By Jorge Benitez, U.S.News & World Report

North Korea Improves Cyber Warfare Capacity, U.S. Says

By Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News

From Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News:  North Korea’s government has a “significant” cyber warfare capability that it continues to improve, the top U.S. commander on the Korean peninsula said.

Britain doubling its number of Reaper drones and activating 1st base in UK

By Telegraph

From Telegraph:  The deployment of the five armed Reaper aircraft, which are used for surveillance and combat operations, will double the number that Britain has available.

One down, one to go: 2 U.S. Army brigades leaving Europe

By Michelle Tan, Army Times

American officials: U.S. and Turkey discussing contingencies for no-fly zone in Syria

By Craig Whitlock, Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, Washington Post:  The U.S. government is intensifying its intelligence sharing and military consultations with Turkey behind the scenes as both countries confront the possibility that Syria’s civil conflict could escalate into a regional war, according to U.S. and NATO officials.

Russia conducts biggest test of its nuclear triad since end of the Cold War

By J. Michael Cole, the Diplomat

From J. Michael Cole, the Diplomat:  With the U.S. and Russia deadlocked over a plan by NATO to deploy a European missile defense system, Moscow showed the world what it meant by “technical response” last week by holding what has been described as the most comprehensive test of its strategic nuclear arsenal since the collapse […]