[Atlantic-Community.org] Last week Atlantic Community, “The Open Think Tank on Foreign Policy,” hosted a theme week of articles from various observers on global affairs to discuss the theme of “Security in the Sahel.” My contribution was “A Fight Club Approach to Policy in the Sahel” in which I questioned whether or not it even makes […]
The idea of arming the Syrian rebels is being chatted up once again. The debate will wander and focus in many theoretical directions. Yet essentially the decision will focus on one key pivot: is the goal a short-term or long-term victory? The safe bet: short-term considerations will win out. The U.N. proclamation that the one […]
Forces representing France and the government of Mali seem to have mostly regained control of the West African nation’s northern region following last month’s offensive, as I covered here. But the fallout from their pushback against rebellious elements continues. I found two developments from a recent BBC update of particular interest. One concerns the status of […]
With the French military intervention in Mali shifting to a more sustained action, the reality of the long, hard slog in the Mali region has triggered inevitable questions by diplomats, policy planners and many others as to what defines success – and what comes next? Most mouthed answer: “Somalia.” That’s correct. The place […]
“The United States is struggling to confront an uptick in threats from the world’s newest jihadist hot spot with limited intelligence and few partners to help as the Obama administration weighs how to keep Islamic extremists in North Africa from jeopardizing national security without launching war. We want to put up a map here and […]
Just a few weeks after France launched an intervention aimed at rooting out Islamist Ansar Dine rebels in northern Mali, French and Malian forces retook the historic desert city without resistance and to the cheers of local citizens. However, the city’s ten months under Islamic rule still had consequences, not just for the people living […]
It’s been just 3 days since I last wrote about the French military supporting the embattled West African nation of Mali, but a lot has happened since. French and Malian military forces–formerly empire and colony, now teamed up–have gone on the offensive, driving militant rebels back from their recent acquisitions with air strikes and armored […]
Articles From Around the Web The Force By Jill Lepore The New Yorker Once a country that regarded a large standing army as a form of tyranny, the United State’s has now become one of the largest spenders on defense — and its military spending exceeds all of the nation’s in the world combined. […]
The threats to the EU come from inside and outside: outside, as proven by the instabilities in Northern Africa and the Sahel; and inside, with the latest speech by British Prime Minister Cameron fitting within the euroskeptic narratives. The French intervention in Mali should concern all EU Member States and make them realize that the […]
Should the U.S. government ever come under threat, would the U.K.–its colonial overlords from way back when–send over troops to stabilize the situation and keep the country and democracy intact (as presently designed)? Sounds pretty far-fetched, but that is exactly what France is aiming to do now in the West African nation of Mali. In […]
In light of France’s recent involvement in Mali, questions about the trajectory and length of this war are naturally coming to the fore. For me, a phrase that I keep thinking about is “the law of conservation of problems,” which comes from an environmental science text I once used. Featured in the text to […]
Finally, the French government has launched a military operation, under the code name Serval, in Mali after a distress call by the Malian President and in accordance with the U.N. Charter. The degradation of the internal situation in Mali and the growing risks of terrorism in Mali and its spread throughout the Sahel have been […]
With the election of President Barack Obama to a second term as President of the United States, the operational realities of an exit strategy for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan by 2014 began to be put into place. Obama campaigned strongly on the notion of turning the security of Afghanistan over to the national forces […]
This last debate on foreign policy will not affect the polls. Mitt Romney was able to make himself credible in foreign policy; while Obama was strong in defending his four years of foreign policy. Romney won the first debate, Obama the second, and the third was a tie. This blog will be extremely short as […]
Finally the topic of foreign policy will be confronted. So far it has been a drought for U.S. foreign policy experts and lovers. The question about the attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya causing the killing of four American diplomats has been one of the very few foreign policy themes tackled so far. However, […]