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Nawaz Offers Views on Changing Pakistani Perceptions of U.S.
Shuja Nawaz, Director of the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, was interviewed on The Takeaway morning radio news program on the Pakistan flood situation. The discussion focused on the U.S. being the single largest donor of aid, and the potential for Pakistanis to shift their perceptions of America. Nawaz insists that the U.S. should stay the course with aid to Pakistan, but warns of the long-term effects of America's goodwill, stating that "changing image takes a long time."
Nancy Walker Addresses U.S. Africa Command Conference
Dr. Nancy J. Walker, Director of the Ansari Africa Center, gave the keynote address at Africa Command’s Senior Leader Offsite Conference in Starnberg, Germany on August 26, 2010.
South Asia Center's Shikha Bhatnagar Spotlighted
Shikha Bhatnagar's recent appointment as Associate Director of the South Asia Center of the Atlantic Council, is yet another manifestation of a growing trend of second generation Indian Americans' advent into leading Washington, DC think tanks as senior policy analysts and associates.
Chuck Hagel Discusses START Ratification on RussiaToday
Atlantic Council Chairman Chuck Hagel was interviewed for RussiaToday on delays in ratification of the START treaty in both the U.S. and Russia.
FEATURED ISSUE
In August the sunny calm and quiet that is a Swedish summer will be shattered by the impact of Joint Direct Attack Munitions dropped by F-16CM Fighting Falcons from US Air Force Europe.
Lugar Wants 'Boots on the Ground' in Eastern Europe
James Joyner | September 28, 2009
Senator Richard Lugar, speaking at the Atlantic Council, made a passionate plea for a stronger NATO commitment to East and Central Europe, including "boots on the ground."
The Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee lamented President Obama's decision to the abandon Poland and Czech missile defense system in favor of a sea based alternative. While conceding the possibility that the new approach was more technically sound, the old one was seen in the region as "a reaffirmation of the U.S. commitment" in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Georgia and the sense that NATO's Article V might be weaker than advertised. Consequentally, "The risk is that whatever strategic benefit the Alliance might realize from the new version of missile defense will be outweighed by the intra-Alliance costs to cohesion of this decision."
To assuage the fears that this has changed, Lugar suggested that there be NATO "boots on the ground" throughout the region along the lines of the Patriot missile batteries that the United States will have in Poland. Along those lines, "A re-invigoration of military exercises in Eastern Europe and joint planning for Eastern European contingencies would be a first step."
More fundamentally, Lugar argued that it's vital that the Alliance "hold out the prospect of membership to qualified aspirant countries, including Ukraine, Georgia, and the entire Balkan region." He asserted that, "We must not repeat the folly of the early days of the Cold War, when the appearance of a rigid U.S.-drawn defense perimeter in the Far East invited the perception that we would abide any geopolitical upheaval behind that line."
Asked in the Q&A session by Ambassador Richard Burt about Russian pressures on Ukraine leading up to this fall's elections, Lugar stated that it was "an ominous potential crisis" and that it was vital was to start paying attention now rather than to wait until for disaster to strike.
These are bold statements from a man of Lugar's prestige and stature. I remain skeptical that there is political will in the United States to make this level of commitment to the emerging states of Eastern Europe, especially at the risk of setting back relations with Russia. And I'm beyond skeptical that there exists consensus among NATO's 28 states to do much beyond issuing proclamations.
James Joyner is managing editor of the Atlantic Council. Atlantic Council photo by Christine Mahler.
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