Western Europe

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.

Will NATO Intervene In Syria?

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Among the explanations given for why the West intervened in Libya but has thus far stayed out of the far greater crisis in Syria has been the lack of regional support for action. That excuse appears to be nearing its expiration date. As NATOSource reported earlier today, the Arab League has […]