The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been the most successful military alliance in the modern era, and it remains strategically important to the United States. Its heart and soul remain the Article V commitment to collective defense. Yet today, the alliance is being challenged to undertake missions both in and out of area, such as in Afghanistan, that is straining its resources and its cohesiveness. NATO needs not only a new Strategic Concept, but more flexible decision-making processes and more equitable burden sharing of risks and responsibilities to continue to succeed.
President Barack Obama recently announced a new strategy to lead the 43-nation NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to victory. Read More.
The removal of American tactical nuclear weapons from European and NATO bases would spell the end of the alliance and the concept of indivisible security. Read More.
In December 2010, the Senate’s resolution of ratification to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) imposed a condition to begin a next round of arms negotiations on tactical nuclear weapons systems between the Obama Administration and Russia. It is essential that the Administration does not make concessions to… Read more
Abstract: The policies of the United States and the European Union should encourage and support Russian civil society and Russia’s democratic modernizers. And, if Russia continues to abrogate its international commitments to basic freedoms and human rights, the… Read more
The Obama Administration has been banking on Pakistani cooperation with its strategy to start a political reconciliation process inside Afghanistan as it withdraws U.S troops from the battlefield and shifts responsibility for security operations to the Afghan forces. Pakistani leaders have demonstrated little interest in assisting the U.S.… Read more
For many years, Russian diplomats have openly proclaimed that the former Soviet republics that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are not truly sovereign states. Russian analysts have stated that Russia regards the Obama Administration’s “reset” policy as a U.S. admission that the CIS is within Russia’s sphere… Read more
Speaking in Brussels last week, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates predicted a “dim, if not dismal future for the transatlantic alliance.” He stated: The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress…to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of… Read more
The Obama Administration, which launched the war in Libya with no clear military plan or exit strategy, now must fashion a suitable and acceptable way forward. The Administration’s short-sighted effort to score a quick and easy military victory over Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s regime failed to end the threat to civilians… Read more
Last month, Kazakhstan’s Parliament approved the sending of troops to Afghanistan. The Taliban immediately issued a threat, warning Kazakhstan that its willingness to participate in the war on terrorism would make the country a target for violence. Days later, Kazakh security services’ headquarters in the northwestern city of Aktobe and… Read more
Despite NATO intervention and advances by opposition forces, the Libyan conflict appears far from resolution. The White House support for rushing referral of Muammar Qadhafi to the International Criminal Court (ICC) has significantly complicated efforts to get Qadhafi to leave the country. The lesson of the… Read more
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is on course to secure a third consecutive victory in parliamentary elections this weekend. Polls are predicting that the AKP could secure up to 48 percent of the vote. However, a two-thirds majority of the 550-seat assembly is… Read more
Abstract It may take years before the results of NATO’s military operations against Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s Libyan regime can finally be judged, but the issues raised by the crisis are of immediate importance. … Read more
Introduction With the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been a growing chorus of cries for the United States to lift the economic embargo on Cuba. This chorus has included even such responsible anti-communist voices as those of former President… Read more
Abstract: Eight countries hold vast territories in the Arctic: the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark (via Greenland), Finland, Sweden, and Iceland. All eight countries are positioning themselves to protect their sovereignty, defend their competing territorial claims, and develop significant natural resources. Future disputes… Read more
Top 10 Reasons Not to Trust Russia The current regime in Russia has a terrible record as a reliable partner, yet President Obama wants… Read more
Abstract: The Kremlin is using anti-Americanism as a strategic tool for pursuing domestic and foreign policy goals. Through media controlled or owned by the state, the Russian government is deliberately spreading poisonous anti-U.S. propaganda at home and abroad, blaming many of Russia's problems on the West, particularly the United States.… Read more
Abstract: In several ways, Russia’s proposed new European Security Treaty would undermine European security—the opposite of its stated purpose—not least of all by sharply limiting NATO’s ability to act and to accept new members. Instead of adding to the existing European architecture and treaties,… Read more
The mixed messages coming from the Obama Administration last week on the future of combat operations in Afghanistan have...… Read more
In a secret NATO report recently leaked to the British media, Taliban insurgents told their interrogators that they are...… Read more
Last Thursday, Iran and Turkey signed an agreement aimed at increasing trade between the two countries and doubling...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_88148" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="President Barak Obama leaves 10 Downing street...… Read more
Tensions are still high in Pakistan after a tragic NATO strike on Pakistani troops two weeks ago. Where is the...… Read more
Russia is trying to exploit U.S. vulnerability in Afghanistan by squeezing concessions on European missile defense. This...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_84960" align="alignnone" width="580" caption="Supporters of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)...… Read more
As international pressure on Iran has mounted due to its accelerating uranium enrichment, its foiled plot to assassinate...… Read more
The U.S. State Department recently announced that the United States will cease carrying out certain obligations under...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_81487" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Guided-missile destroyers of the Arleigh Burke...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations
Deputy Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies
Director, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies