In The News

The Guardian: Merkel Says EU Cannot Completely Rely on US and Britain Anymore

Jon Henley May 30, 2017
The United States as reliable partner is a campaign issue for other countries. “We Europeans truly have to take its fate into its own hands,” said Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel at campaign rally. The Guardian reported on Merkel’s comments: “Speaking after bruising meetings of Nato and the G7 group of wealthy nations last week, the German chancellor suggested the postwar western alliance had...

The Washington Post: Trump Chastises Fellow NATO Members

Philip Rucker, Karen DeYoung and Michael Birnbaum May 26, 2017
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed in 1949 as collective defense against potential aggression by the Soviet Union. NATO now has 28 members. US President Donald Trump, attending meetings and ceremonies in Brussels, urged fellow members to pay a fair share of NATO expenses, at least 2 percent of GDP by 2024. Other NATO members may be wary of Trump, whose presidential campaign is under...

NPR: Who Is Robert Mueller, Special Counsel Overseeing Russia Investigation?

Carrie Johnson May 19, 2017
The world closely followed the 2016 US presidential campaign, and will continue to do so with multiple investigations into reports of Russian interference during the election. Robert Mueller, former director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, has been nominated as special counselor with broad powers to investigate. Mueller started his job as FBI director a week before the 9/11 attacks,...

The Atlantic: The Terrible Cost of Trump's Disclosures

Eliot A. Cohen May 16, 2017
The Washington Post reports that the US president shared highly classified information about the Islamic State to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador. White House staff denied the story, possibly leaked by White House or intelligence staff. Donald Trump then confirmed that he shared “facts” for “humanitarian reasons.” Eliot Cohen describes the consequences for the Atlantic. Release of...

CNN: Putin Warns Against “Intimidating” North Korea After Latest Missile Launch

James Griffiths, Matthew Chance and Steve George May 15, 2017
North Korea tested another missile – its most successful yet, traveling more than 750 kilometers and landing near Russia, though the US and Russia disagree over just how that close. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin condemned the launch as dangerous but warned against “intimidating” North Korea. Some analysts suggest that the missile launched at another trajectory could have reached US bases in...

The Times of India: A Tectonic Shift?

Nayan Chanda May 11, 2017
North Korea depends on China, but the isolated regime is turning on its benefactor with an editorial that warns “China of grave consequences if it tried to stop the development of the country’s nuclear weapons programme,” explains Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, in his column for the Times of India. Chanda details China’s adept handling of security and foreign relations in...

Bloomberg: Comey’s Firing Helps Demean the US Globally

Leonid Bershidsky May 10, 2017
US intelligence officials maintain that Russia interfered in the US presidential election with false news spread over social media to discredit Hillary Clinton. The inexpensive campaign succeeded beyond Russians' wildest expectations. The US Russia scandal is “eating the U.S. from the inside, undermining the country's global role at least as much as President Donald Trump's erratic...