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A New Reality in U.S.-Israeli Relations

By George Friedman

U.S. President Barack Obama is making his first visit to Israel. The visit comes in the wake of his re-election and inauguration to a second term and the formation of a new Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Normally, summits between Israel and the United States are filled with foreign policy issues on both sides, and there will be many discussed at this meeting, including Iran, Syria and Egypt. But this summit takes place in an interesting climate, because both the Americans and Israelis are less interested in foreign and security matters than they are in their respective domestic issues. READ MORE

Visit of senior think tankers and policy makers from the Asia-Pacific region

A group of senior security experts, think tankers and policy makers from the Asia-Pacific region took part in a four-day study tour from 4 to 7 March 2013, aimed at promoting dialogue and exploring opportunities for further cooperation with NATO. READ MORE

The Coming Atlantic Century

By Anne-Marie Slaughter

The United States is rising; Europe is stabilizing; and both are moving closer together. That was the principal message earlier this month at the annual Munich Security Conference (MSC), a high-powered gathering of defense ministers, foreign ministers, senior military officials, parliamentarians, journalists, and national-security experts of every variety. READ MORE

Germany to Continue Leading Europe Despite Domestic Political Uncertainty

By Stephen F. Szabo

Germany’s federal election in September is about more than that country’s future; it’s about Europe. Germany has emerged from the multiple crises of the eurozone as the continent’s pivotal power. U.S. President Barack Obama understood this early in his tenure and it has also been openly acknowledged by the likes of Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who called for more German leadership in a speech in Berlin. Germany’s indispensability is also acknowledged, albeit less openly, in Britain and France, both of which are still coming to terms with Germany’s preponderance of economic and political power (and its lack of comparable military power). And in countries such as Greece, Spain, and Italy, anti-German sentiments are a grudging acknowledgement that these nations’ fates are determined in Berlin as much as in their own capitals. READ MORE

NATO Defence Ministers agree to expand exercises and multinational cooperation

NATO Defence Ministers agreed concrete goals for more ambitious training and exercises to maintain the lessons of interoperability at their meeting in Brussels on 21 February. READ MORE

Intervention in Mali: First, Do No Harm

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By Maria Prosviryakova

Interviewee: Commodore Steven Jermy RN, former Strategy Director in the British Embassy in Afghanistan READ MORE

''NATO after ISAF – Staying Successful Together''

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Remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the Munich Security Conference. READ MORE

Hold the line on defence spending, Secretary General urges

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Allies should hold the line on defence spending and look for ways to close the gaps in their capabilities, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said as he launched his second Annual Report on 31 January 2013. READ MORE

Turkey Debates SCO as an Alternative to the EU

By Emrullah Uslu

Turkey–European Union relations were frozen while Cyprus held the rotating EU presidency during the second half of 2012. In those six months, no progress was made in Turkey’s European integration, and very few official visits took place between Turkish and EU delegations. Signifying the tense relationship, in November, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy, Professor Burhan Kuzu, the head of the parliamentary Constitution Commission, harshly criticized the EU progress report on Turkey. He dramatically threw it into a trashcan on national television to show his government’s disappointment with the EU and with Cyprus’s presidency (CNNTurk, November 11, 2012). READ MORE

Speech by Foreign Minister Westerwelle at the 49th Munich Security Conference

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Mr Vice President,

Distinguished guests,

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen, READ MORE