Please join the Atlantic Council for a public address and conversation with General Charles Bouchard, commander of the NATO military mission in Libya.

As noted in yesterday’s installment, the prospects of solving the humanitarian crisis in Syria through air power alone are nil. Today, we assess the options from the ground.

From Dimitri Trenin, the International Herald Tribune:  The Russian government is openly conservative; it abhors revolutions.

From George F. Will, the Washington Post:  The U.S. defense budget is about 43 percent of the world’s total military spending — more than the combined defense spending of the next 17 nations, many of which are U.S. allies.

From Oxford Analytica, CNN: Every generation of Western politicians has dreaded the possibility of NATO's demise.

From John Vincour, the International Herald Tribune:  Mr. Putin’s goal is not only to paint an American-led enemy in time for next month’s vote, but to get the West to back off on Iran and on deployment of NATO’s missile shield in Europe through threats and by sowing the notion that America is shoving its friends into confrontations they don’t need.

From Judy Dempsey, the International Herald Tribune:  When Thomas de Maizière described the state of the trans-Atlantic relationship to a packed audience in Munich, he shied away from unpalatable truths.

From Shadi Hammid, CNN:  As I've argued before, military intervention [in Syria] remains premature. But, in light of recent events, the time has come to carefully consider the various military options available