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Julia Galaski: The internationalization of surveillance is susceptible to abuse and cyberterrorism. A means of assessing the possible side effects of transatlantic data exchange is urgently needed.
Since the terror attacks in New York, London and Madrid, the number of databases collecting personal data of citizens and foreigners on both sides of the Atlantic has multiplied considerably. The exchange of personal data has also intensified, the main objective being to facilitate preventive investigations in the war on terror. Personal data is information about the identity of an individual: traditional data such as name ...More
Tim Foxley: Too little time, effort and analytical resources are dedicated to understanding what the Taliban are saying - and that a change in this approach could lead to a change in the war.
I apologise for bluntly jumping straight to the point of this article, but I want to ask what is being done to take the ‘media' battle to the Taliban?
By this, I mean proactive campaigns that confront and expose the Taliban's statements, their vulnerabilities and their contradictions - and not just the stream of ‘good news' stories broadcast to the Afghans and the international community.
I believe there is too little time, ...More
Tobias Wolny: Dealing with Russia should not be left to cold warriors and Russian well-wishers. Both Old and New Europe will benefit from replacing threatening language with confidence building measures in their approach to diplomatic relations with Russia.
It is striking how much Russia polarises Western elites, how the debate on Russia is dominated by hot-headed emotions rather than rationality and farsightedness. Conservatives in Central and Eastern Europe succumb to this temptation and engage in Russia bashing rather than making constructive proposals on how we should deal with present-day Russia. Take, for example, former Czech Defense Minister and Ambassador to Russia Lubos Dobrovsky, ...More
Florian Broschk: The Western effort to conquer “hearts and minds” in Afghanistan is being hindered by a failure to recognize the core role of religion in Afghan society. The West must integrate the language of Islamic morality into its counterinsurgency mission.
The Western approach to winning "hearts and minds" focuses on economic incentives combined with a Western conception of legitimate government. US counterinsurgency doctrine also stresses the importance of providing security for the population: it contends that one cannot reasonably expect cooperation from people who live under the constant threat of draconic retaliation measures once the foreign forces leave their village. ...More
Thomas Speckmann: Nicolas Sarkozy governs according to his own agenda, to the disadvantage of Europe. His political style is similar to the unilateral approach of President Bush, condemned by so many Europeans. France cannot continue to give its longstanding ally, Germany, the cold shoulder. Sarkozy must cease his go-it-alone policies and become “Sarkozy l’Européen.”
"We are all Americans," declared Jacques Chirac after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Europe's transatlanticists rejoiced as Nicolas Sarkozy came to power because France's new president was regarded as a friend of the United States and its president. However, the fissure with George W. Bush over the Iraq war was soon to follow. Furthermore, it appeared as if Sarkozy had taken his political style from Bush himself. Hence, France's EU Council ...More
Richard N. Rosencrance & Ehud Eiran: A Palestinian-Israeli peace settlement stands little chance, given current political realities. In the form of EU membership, Europe holds the key to the transformation and resolution of the millennia-long rivalry - both a win-win for Israel and Palestine and a boon to Europe. In the name of peace, Israelis and Palestinians should become European.
Scratch just a bit under the hope generated by the coming electoral changes in Washington, Jerusalem, and maybe Ramallah,
and you discover deep despair about the possibility of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
The
roads taken in the last 15 years in pursuit of a deal – the
negotiations since Oslo, the unilateralism of the Gaza disengagement,
and even the violence since the (second) Intifada – all failed.
The opponents of an agreement ...More
Van Jones: It’s time to bailout the American people, the planet and the economy. We need to create millions of new jobs that can’t be outsourced, wean the country off its dependence on foreign oil, take bold steps to address the climate crisis and make America an innovation leader again.
This video is courtesy of PopTech.
Van Jones is founding president of Green For All and a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress.
NATO Channel: Afghanistan’s symbolic Highway 1 is coming under increased attacks from insurgents placing explosives in bridges and culverts. These attempts to disrupt this important route for both commerce and the movement of people can only be countered through coordinated efforts from ISAF and the Afghan people.
The following video gives an insight into
the latest challenge which the Taliban is presenting to reconstruction forces
in Afghanistan
through the use of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on the major Highway 1 thoroughfare. It discusses the counter-measures
being put in place by ISAF.
A recent insurgent IED attack on Highway 1 killed four Afghan police
officers. Such attacks, in which IEDs are placed in bridges and culverts
...More
Interviews with YATA Delegates: Youth Atlantic Treaty Association delegates interviewed at their General Assembly held in Berlin in November 2008. The topics range from Russian relations to what Obama will ask Europe to do.
In this series of exclusive videos, atlantic-community.org has interviewed delegates and representatives of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA), an association with 39 member organizations on each side of the Atlantic. The YATA General Assembly in Berlin was hosted by the Deutsche Atlantische Gesellschaft, who also organised a prestigious conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as keynote speaker. Since ...More
William Maley: In the battle to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan, Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) are often on the front line. What are they actually, what are their tasks and ways of operating?
As an innovative approach to building peace and security, the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan were very much a response to unanticipated circumstances. They were largely new in structure, although elements of the PRT model were earlier seen in conflicts such as Vietnam.
The Bonn Agreement of December 2001 provided for the deployment in Afghanistan of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Given that ...More
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