New Atlanticist

Why is Russia Afraid of a 300-Year-Old Ukrainian Hero?

Adrian Karatnycky and Alexander Motyl — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:00:31 -0400

Lord Byron, Pushkin, and Victor Hugo wrote poems about him. Liszt composed a symphonic work in his honor, Tchaikovsky devoted an opera to him, and Gericault painted him tied naked to a horse. In centuries past he was a historical superstar -- a poster child for the Romantic era.

Where are the Local Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Bernard Finel — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:30:00 -0400

In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has more expansive and ambitious goals than our local allies.

Iran, Russia and U.S. Nonproliferation Efforts

Brendan Boundy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:00:00 -0400

Despite the apparent failure of the “reset button” for U.S.-Russian relations, the nuclear arms agreement signed by Obama and Medvedev will significantly reduce each country's respective nuclear weapons arsenals and strengthen U.S.-led efforts to address a far more pressing issue: Iran’s continuing uranium enrichment and the concomitant threat of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

Are you Passionate about Afghanistan?

Kenneth Payne — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:00:52 -0400

No? That could be a problem.

Germany's Iron Cross a New Symbol of Hope?

Nicholas Siegel — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:48:21 -0400

On Monday, for the first time since 1945, German soldiers were awarded the Iron Cross for bravery on the field of battle. The ancient Teutonic symbol, which dates back to the Crusades and was first awarded as a military medal in 1813, was pinned onto the chests of four German servicemen who dragged wounded comrades and local children from the site of a suicide attack in Afghanistan last October.

New NATO Concept a Chance for Europe to Recommit to Alliance

Jan Techau — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:34:01 -0400

Yesterday, NATO officially kicked off the process of drafting a new strategic concept for history's most enduring military alliance. Officials, soldiers, think tankers, and strategists from all 28 member states convened in Brussels to ponder ideas on how to make the Atlantic Alliance fit for its seventh decade in business.

NATO: Relic or Revitalized?

Harlan Ullman — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:00:00 -0400

Yesterday in Brussels, NATO kicked off a yearlong process to draft a new strategic concept. The last strategic concept was adopted a decade ago at the Washington Summit marking the alliance's 50th anniversary, when NATO was at war in what turned out to be a 78-day bombing campaign to stop Serbia and its autocratic leader Slobodan Milosevic's ruthless campaign of slaughter in Kosovo labeled mildly as ethnic cleansing. But, in many ways, the challenges today are greater than at any time in NATO's 60-year history.

Obama and Medvedev (Re)set Arms Limits

Andrew Kessinger — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:00:00 -0400

Yesterday’s highly anticipated meeting between Presidents Obama and Medvedev, while hardly the so-called "reset" moment in U.S.-Russian relations, does shift the tone.

Russia Summit Achieves Little, As Expected

James Joyner — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:21:13 -0400

Naval War College professor Nick Gvosdev, a contributing editor at the Atlantic Council, argued in advance of the trip that "Despite all the promises about a 'reset' in the U.S.-Russia relationship, the Obama administration still seems to be following a script crafted by its predecessor" but predicted that the visit would be "symbolically triumphal." He appears right on both counts.

Honduras Coup and America's Democracy Policy

Bernard Finel — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:59:35 -0400

Latin America watchers have been transfixed over the past week with developments in Honduras. At first glance, the issue is simple: a group of armed thugs overthrew a democratic regime. This sort of military coup — which echoes the regimes of cliched colonels in sunglasses — was thought to have been relegated to the Latin American past.