Western Europe

British Defense chief signals era of new military alliances

By Richard Norton-Taylor and Nick Hopkins, the Guardian

From Richard Norton-Taylor and Nick Hopkins, the Guardian:  The British government’s most senior defence and security policy advisers are finally facing up to a fundamental shift in the world’s military and economic balance.

General asks Obama for year-long pause in troop withdrawals from Afghanistan

By Ben Farmer, the Telegraph

From Ben Farmer, the Telegraph:  Gen John Allen is opposing Barack Obama’s strategy of steadily pulling out troops over the next three years and argues a premature decline will jeopardise security gains made in the past year.

Saving the Euro – and the European Union

By Daniel Price

Germany ought to be able to debate its eurozone partners on the shape of needed economic reform without conjuring up historical fears of hegemony.

Germany’s Military Reform: An American Perspective

By Peter Flory

In the May 2011 German Defense Policy Guidelines (DPG), Germany sets as its goal a force that is capable of “[s]afe guarding national interests, assuming international responsibility, and shaping security together.”  As an American, I would ask no more and no less from our German ally.

NATO is a shell of its former self

By  J.L. Granatstein,the Ottowa Citizen

Do Not Attack Syria

By Aaron David Miller, the International Herald Tribune

From Aaron David Miller, the International Herald Tribune:  The Arab League suspends Syrian membership; the king of Jordan calls for Bashar al-Assad’s departure; Turkey appears ready for more aggressive anti-Assad measures; defectors from the Syrian Army are attacking regime targets.