United States and Canada

Turkey’s Vision of an Ottoman Commonwealth

By Jackson Diehl, the Washington Post

Europe’s Piecemeal Failure

By Alistair Darling, the New York Times

From Alistair Darling, the New York Times:  When I look at events in Europe today, with Ireland getting bailed out and talk of crises brewing elsewhere on the continent, I am reminded of the weeks leading up to the banking crisis in 2008.

Aide to British MP Suspected of Spying for Russia

By Ravi Somaiya, the New York Times

Hungary’s Dept. FM: Wikileaks is a “serious crime” that affects the “security of the NATO alliance”

By James Morrison, the Washington Times

Clinton Moves to Ease Tensions on Kyrgyz Base

By Mark Landler, the New York Times

Hitting the Reset Button on U.S.-Russia Cooperation

By Stephan M. Minikes

Stephan M. Minikes, U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE from June 2001 to 2005 and current Eurasia Task Force member, argues how improved U.S.-Russia relations can enable a more active OSCE in “Hitting the Reset Button on U.S.-Russia Cooperation.” Download the PDF

Cables Reveal NATO Split over Russia

By Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver

From Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver:  One cable dealing with an extraordinary meeting of Nato ambassadors in Brussels on 12 August ran with the sub-heading: "Nato allies lack cohesion during first meeting on Georgia crisis."

Cables Praise French Friend With ‘Mercurial’ Side

By Katrin Bennhold, the New York Times

From Katrin Bennhold, the New York Times:  President Nicolas Sarkozy is an unusually solid French friend of America. He is also a “mercurial” man operating in “a zone of monarch-like impunity&rdquobreak–>; surrounded by advisers often too fearful to give honest counsel, according to leaked cables from the United States Embassy in Paris. “Élysée contacts have […]

A Swiss Alternative to Competing Visions of Europe’s Future?

By Kenneth Weisbrode, the Diplomatic Courier

From Kenneth Weisbrode, the Diplomatic Courier:  Calls for the transformation of Europe into something resembling a larger version of Switzerland have grown louder of late. Although European “neutrality” was a periodic Cold War bugbear, it now seems less offensive. Who would object to a prosperous, peaceful, stable and relatively liberal, multilingual polity? … The reason […]

Belarus agrees to give up stockpile of highly enriched uranium

By Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post