United States and Canada

Official NATO statement on air strikes against Gaddafi convoy

By NATO

From NATO:  Now that NATO has had the opportunity to conduct a post strike assessment of yesterday’s strike, we are able to provide a more comprehensive picture of events.

US Predator attacked Gaddafi convoy also targeted by French jet

By AFP

From AFP:  A US defence official says a US Predator drone along with a French fighter jet had attacked a convoy of vehicles in Libya that Paris believed was carrying Muammar Gaddafi.

Canada to modernize Navy with largest shipbuilding program in country’s history

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Canada will sign contracts with shipyards in Nova Scotia and British Columbia under a C$35 billion ($35 billion) shipbuilding program, the largest in the NATO country’s history. The government set up the program to revive Canada’s shipbuilding industry while modernizing its Navy and Coast Guard, which are still operating some ships that are […]

Air Force merges two command and control units in Germany

By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes

From Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes:  The Air Force has merged two command and control units at Ramstein Air Base, with the new combined unit overseeing all U.S. air operations in Europe and Africa.

Counter-Piracy Task Force: Strategic Approaches to the Piracy Challenge

By Adrienne Chuck

The International Security Program and the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center launched the Atlantic Council Maritime Piracy Task Force, chaired by Atlantic Council Board Director Franklin D. Miller. This was the first in what will be a series of meetings addressing the challenge of piracy and possible strategic approaches.

U.S. not sure Russia and NATO will reach agreement on missile defense before the Chicago summit

By Susan Cornwell and Jim Wolf, Reuters

From Susan Cornwell and Jim Wolf, Reuters:  The United States has invited Russia to use its own radars and other sensors to size up one or more U.S. missile-defense flight tests as part of a new push to persuade Moscow that the system poses it no threat, a Pentagon official said on Tuesday.

The Real Recep Tayyip Erdogan

By Morton Abramowitz, the National Interest

Why the US Explored “Cyber War” Against Libya, And Why It Backed Down

By Jason Healey, the New Atlanticist

From Jason Healey, the New Atlanticist:  [W]e should have been not just surprised but shocked if we’d heard that the US ruled out cyber capabilities without even considering them.

Republicans and Foreign Policy

By the Editors of the New York Times

From the Editors of the New York Times:  Recently, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Jr. have delivered foreign policy speeches and issued white papers. But they are pretty thin, with few new ideas and many unanswered questions.