This end of year has been quite tumultuous in Europe: European citizens are in the street, rating agencies threaten to downgrade the rating of some members of the Eurozone, the race to elections is going full speed in several EU countries, all this taking place in a dire economic and political climax. The political debate […]
On September 30th, Mr. Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General, gave a talk underlining the themes that will be addressed in the Chicago Summit in May 2012. Mr. Rasmussen is facing a considerable challenge on top of the Afghan mission, namely the financial crisis. The crisis is lasting longer than initially thought and forcing members of the […]
As we observe the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and we contemplate what went wrong with the past decade, we should look at Libya for lessons on western intervention! In the aftermath of 9/11, American neoconservatives tried to ‘liberate’ the Arab world, and bring ‘democracy’ in the Middle East. It was argued that failed states like […]
Wired recently published this article entitled ” How Special Ops Copied al-Qaida to Kill it”. It outlines the work of General Stanley McChrystal and his efforts to defeat a Al Quaida, based on the realization that, “to defeat a networked enemy we had to become a network ourselves.” The general set up a highly efficient […]
Imagine all the traffic lights going off, no more electric power, a shut down of all communication systems, disruption of nuclear power plants, and a nuclear launch all at the same time with one problem, the government is not in control and has been a victim of a cyberattack. What would be the consequences? Cybersecurity […]
Currently reading about the question of European security for my dissertation, I came across a very insightful book – in French – entitled Un Monde sans Europe? (A world without Europe?). The manuscript’s research question is very simple: what are the challenges, and possible opportunities, for France and Europe in this transforming world? In order […]
It’s been an interesting week in which President Obama defended the U.S. role in Libya against critics in Congress. It’s an odd development and many people find it hard to wrap their brains around the idea of a Democrat president who had campaigned against the wars and pledged to bring our troops home now defending […]
A recent Ipsos survey has indicated that Turkey is the most critical NATO member of the operations in Libya. According to the survey the most support for military intervention is in Belgium (78%) followed by strong support in France (72%) and Canada (70%), whereas the weakest support among NATO countries registers in Hungary (54%), Italy […]
Sarwar Kashmeri, a senior fellow in the International Security Program of the Atlantic Council and a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, has two recent offerings that give excellent insights into how the Libya operation might affect NATO’s future: 1. A posting on European Geostrategy, CSDP – the Atlantic Alliance’s Saviour? (CSDP is the European […]
As NATO prepares to take over the command of Libya air operations, NATO spokesman has indicated on March 25 that the İzmir NATO Airbase in Turkey will act as the command and communications center for further air operations. With this capacity a Turkish major-general and an American lieutenant-general will have the ‘authority and responsibility’ for […]
Turkey as the ‘protecting power of the United States’ in Libya ‘Turkey has agreed to be our protecting power in Libya,’ Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters today, referring to the new role Ankara will play serving US interests in Tripoli. There were signs Turkey was effectively playing such a role when Turkish […]
This just in: Matt Bryza was confirmed today (December 29) as the new US ambassador to Azerbaijan. About time. This was a “recess appointment” by the White House, necessitated by a “hold” placed on Bryza by California Senator Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, both Democrats responding to strenuous criticism of Bryza from […]
After decades of mistrust, the relationship between NATO and Russia is finally improving. A genuine partnership must develop in the long term, however at the summit in Lisbon on November 19 and 20, NATO intended to adopt a new strategy and also improve its relations with Russia. This is not the first time since the […]
Foreign Policy Association has seemed to transform into Afghanistan Association as our website has recently produced a myriad of fascinating pieces on the Central Asian state. Here are three really worth checking out! On FPA’s website’s main page, the Viewpoint series features an article by Mehdi Noorbaksh titled ‘Irreparable Mistake to Leave Afghanistan‘. Noorbaksh makes […]
Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech to the Atlantic Council to mark the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The speech focused on the administration’s new agenda for freedom and democracy promotion, seeking a renewed US-European partnership to combat global terrorism, human rights violations, climate change and the spread […]