Western Europe

Nato chief: Afghanistan timetable puts British troops at risk

By James Kirkup, the Telegraph

From James Kirkup, the Telegraph:  David Cameron’s signal of a five-year timetable for withdrawing British troops from Afghanistan risks encouraging the Taliban to step up their attacks on Western forces, the head of Nato has said. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary-general, delivered the blunt message after the Prime Minister said he wanted most British […]

Davutoğlu considers question “Who lost Turkey?” an insult

By Zaman

From Zaman:  In remarks delivered at the Chatham House think tank in London on Thursday during an official bilateral visit to the UK capital, [Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet] Davutoğlu said that the question, “Are we losing Turkey?” is extremely annoying. Such a question is humiliating for Turkey and Turkey is not an object to be […]

Russia sends warship to international naval drills in North Atlantic

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  The Severomorsk guided-missile destroyer from Russia’s Northern Fleet set sail Friday for British shores to team up with NATO warships in an international naval exercise in the North Atlantic, a fleet spokesman said. The Russian Navy earlier said the Frukus 2010 exercise will be held on July 22-25. The annual exercises, which […]

The Special Relationship in Peril

By Con Coughlin, the Wall Street Journal

From Con Coughlin, the Wall Street Journal:  The radical reappraisal of British foreign policy undertaken by Prime Minister David Cameron‘s new coalition government has raised serious questions about the future of Britain’s historic alliance with Washington..

Identities revealed in the largest spy swap since the Cold War

By Peter Baker, Ellen Barry and Benjamin Weiser, the New York Times

Officials: 3 arrested in Norway al-Qaida bomb plot

By the AP

British troops to leave Sangin this year, Liam Fox says

By the Telegraph

From the Telegraph:  British troops will be withdrawn from the Sangin area of Afghanistan later this year, Defence Secretary Liam Fox told MPs. He said the UK had agreed to a redeployment which will see US Marines assume responsibility for the area where nearly a third of UK deaths in the conflict have occurred.

Russian spying at cold war levels, say experts

By James Blitz, the Financial Times

From James Blitz, the Financial Times:  The widespread mockery of Russian spies after this week’s arrests in the US has angered well-placed British intelligence experts, who believe it would be foolish to underestimate the espionage efforts of the heirs of the KGB.

Controversy over BBC story: British may be ‘among last’ to leave Afghanistan

By Mark Mardell, BBC

NATO needs to brace for spike in casualties-Britain

By Adam Entous, Reuters

From Adam Entous, Reuters: Britain’s defense secretary warned NATO allies on Wednesday against prematurely withdrawing forces from Afghanistan and said they should prepare their war-weary publics for a spike in coalition casualties.