United States and Canada

China tells EU to end arms ban

By Andrew Rettman, EUobserver

From Andrew Rettman, EUobserver:  Chinese leader Wen Jiabao has bluntly told the EU to drop its ban on arms sales. He made the call in his opening remarks to top EU officials Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso at a summit in a stately home in Brussels on Thursday (20 September). "I have to […]

GALLUP: 95% of Libyans want militias disarmed immediately

By Jay Loschky, GALLUP

From Jay Loschky, GALLUP: Nearly all Libyans (95%) surveyed early this spring, before Tuesday’s deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, agreed that local militias should be required to hand in their weapons to authorities immediately.

Is it time to get NATO more active on the Syrian situation?

By Butch Bracknell, Best Defense

From Butch Bracknell, Best Defense:  One possible first step toward NATO taking decisive action in this crisis is to ask Turkey for permission to set up a command and control structure in Turkey aboard an American or Turkish airbase.

Assistant SecState Gordon: ‘Central Europeans living up to their commitments as allies’

By Philip H. Gordon, Department of State

From Philip H. Gordon, Department of State:  Just consider the immense challenges we are confronting: an economic crisis that has hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic, the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, and a new wave of democratic reform and unrest across the Middle East and North Africa. Some in Central Europe may […]

Intell Report: Iranian planes carrying personnel and weapons to Syria via Iraq ‘on an almost daily basis’

By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters

From Louis Charbonneau, Reuters:  Iran has been using civilian aircraft to fly military personnel and large quantities of weapons across Iraqi airspace to Syria to aid President Bashar al-Assad

Panetta talks cyber issues with Chinese, but experts see no decline in attacks out of China

By Lolita C. Baldor, AP

From Lolita C. Baldor, AP:  Despite several years of escalating diplomacy and warnings, the U.S. is making little headway in its efforts to tamp down aggressive Chinese cyberattacks against American companies and the government. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is wrapping up three days of meetings with military and civilian leaders, said he has […]

Deputy SecGen Vershbow: ‘Much remains to be done’ to diminish military capabilities gap in NATO

By Alexander Vershbow, NATO

From Alexander Vershbow, NATO:  The U.S. “pivot to Asia” reflects the growing challenges of that region. But it is also an opportunity. Better connectivity with Asia is not only in the United States’ interests. It is also in Europe’s interest. This “pivot” has raised questions about the European Allies’ ability to do more for their […]

Majority of EU and US citizens polled view each other as more important for their national interests than Asia

By Transatlantic Trends

From Transatlantic Trends: Key Findings 2012, German Marshall Fund of the United States:  Transatlantic Trends paints a picture of a complex relationship between the United States and Europe, and how they respond to global challenges.

Turkey’s Ambassador on Syria: ‘We must act, act now and act decisively’

By Namik Tan, Atlantic Council

From Namik Tan, Atlantic Council:  [F]rom Libya to Egypt, and from Iraq to Yemen, every day, the developments in the Arab world are keeping us on our toes.  But nowhere is the challenge more immediate and the humanitarian imperative so dire than in Syria. 

Turkish Ambassador: ‘We need a strong trans-Atlantic alliance’

By Namik Tan, Atlantic Council