In The News

US Turns to Other Routes to Supply Afghan War as Relations With Pakistan Fray

Craig Whitlock July 4, 2011
The US has been increasingly reducing its reliance on Pakistan for entering landlocked Afghanistan and turning to alternative routes for supplying NATO forces. “[S]hifting supply lines elsewhere would substantially increase the cost of the war and make the United States more dependent on authoritarian countries in Central Asia,” reports Craig Whitlock for the Washington Post. “With landlocked...

Why Syria Will Get Away With It

Gideon Rachman June 14, 2011
Deep in debt, the US struggles to end three wars. At the same time, the departing US secretary of defense criticized European NATO allies for a lack of commitment and poor military preparation. The combination of a lack of funds and fortitude has complicated Libyan intervention, which could allow the Syrian regime to get away with its brutal repression of its own citizens. Gideon Rachman of the...

Libyan Fallout: Does NATO Divide the Atlantic Partners? Part II

Tomas Valasek May 12, 2011
Despite internal divisions, Europe handily leads the military campaign in Libya, taking on global-policing duties long shouldered by the US. NATO’s objectives have shifted and expanded since 1949, with members divided about threats and strategy. This YaleGlobal series analyzes the transformation in the NATO alliance resulting from the Libyan crisis. Members share common goals, and thus the...

Libyan Fallout: Does NATO Divide the Atlantic Partners? Part I

Alistair Burnett May 10, 2011
With differing levels of enthusiasm among members, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mounts military operations to end the Libyan government’s attacks on civilians. This two-part series analyzes the NATO mission and members’ commitment to the alliance’s future. In the first article, Alistair Burnett, of BBC News, describes the alliance’s intervention in Libya as half-hearted. Of 28 NATO...

An Alliance Without a Strategy

Jörg Himmelreich April 26, 2011
NATO’s attacks on Libya since mid-March, designed to protect citizens, so far deliver neither quick relief from the fighting nor end of the Gaddafi regime. NATO was divided going into Libya and is just as divided a month later. By encouraging Europe to take the lead in Libya, the US exposed European security weaknesses. Alliance members lack a sense of purpose, instead pursuing national or even...

NATO's Last Mission?

Fred Kaplan April 19, 2011
With disagreement erupting among its 28 member states, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization operation in Libya strains the alliance started in 1949 for mutual defense against external attack. Similar disagreements emerged with interventions in Kosovo and Afghanistan. For each military operation, allies impose conditions on their involvement. The US, once critical of such conditions, now leaves...

Former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans: Responsibility to Protect

Gareth Evans April 15, 2011
In an interview with Nayan Chanda, former Foreign Minister of Australia and former President of International Crisis Group Gareth Evans explains the origin of the Responsibility to Protect – R2P – concept and hails the UN resolution 1973 as breaking a new ground in the development of global governance. – YaleGlobal