Ivo H. Daalder

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Ukrainian forces near Kreminna, Ukraine, January 2023. Clodagh Kilcoyne / Reuters

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Whenever the United States faces a foreign policy crisis, critics claim that the U.S. government is doing either too much or not enough. So it is with Ukraine. Many fault the Biden administration for failing to provide Ukrainian forces with the heavy weapons—mainly tanks, long-range missiles, and combat aircraft—that they say are needed to expel Russian troops from Ukrainian soil. Others, worried about Western staying power and the rising human and economic costs of the war, urge the administration to pressure Kyiv into negotiating a deal with Russia—even if that means giving up some of its territory.

Neither argument is convincing.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Ukrainian flag outside the European Parliament in Brussels, June 2022. Yves Herman / Reuters

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The surprising success of Ukraine’s offensive to retake territory Russia seized since its invasion February has left Russian President Vladimir Putin with precious few choices to turn the tide of war. Without a mass mobilization, which Putin has ruled out for fear of domestic opposition, Russia is running out of men and materiel to keep the territory it still holds, let alone regain the initiative. Putin’s best hope—perhaps his only hope—is that Western support for Ukraine will crumble as the costs of war, including energy shortages and rising prices, begin to hit home in Europe.

Putin has been here before. He invaded Ukraine believing that a divided and weakened West did not have the stomach for confrontation.…  Seguir leyendo »

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“Ukraine is not just a neighbouring country for us”, declared Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in a rambling, raging speech in February which set the stage for war. “It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space”.

It was a shocking speech which reverberated around the world. Western countries mobilised an unprecedented response to the invasion through sanctions and through military aid to Ukraine. Much of the rest of the world united in condemnation of Russia—though heavyweights such as India and China did not.

Although Mr Putin made his case for why war would be justified, for some the fault lay elsewhere.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has proved to be a strategic miscalculation of historic proportions. Having failed to produce a quick victory for Moscow, the  unprovoked invasion faces a ferocious Ukrainian insurgency that has already caused some 15,000 Russian combat fatalities, roughly the same number that the Soviet Union lost in its entire nine-year campaign in Afghanistan. The Russian economy has been battered by extraordinary international sanctions. Calls for Putin to be tried as a war criminal have echoed around the world. It is safe to say that none of this was what Putin expected when he launched his attack.…  Seguir leyendo »

An elderly man outside an apartment block damaged by an artillery strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 March 2022. Photograph: Vadim Ghirdă/AP

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Nato leaders are meeting for an emergency summit in Brussels today to address the war in Ukraine. While there, they must discuss and agree on how to respond in the event of further escalation from Russia. In the best case, clarifying Nato’s response to further escalation will deter Vladimir Putin from taking that step. At the very least, it will prepare the allies for what may follow.

Having failed to quickly oust the elected government in Kyiv, Putin now faces a choice between negotiating an end to the war, or escalating further. While talks are ongoing, Putin himself has given no indication that he’ll settle for anything less than Ukraine’s complete subjugation.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalOTAN

Last month, NATO leaders held a successful summit in Chicago at which they charted the future course of the alliance in Afghanistan, bolstered NATO’s partnerships with nations across the globe and made a commitment to ensure that the alliance will have the capabilities to meet the security challenges of today and tomorrow.

The alliance made many critical decisions in Chicago; one of the most important was the declaration of an interim NATO ballistic missile-defense capability — the first concrete step to defending NATO European territory, its population and forces against the growing threat of ballistic missile attack. Today, NATO has the ability to defend parts of southern Europe against a limited attack, a capability that will gradually expand so that all of NATO Europe will be protected by the end of this decade.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Monday, Oct. 31st, seven months after it started, NATO’s operation in Libya will come to an end. It is the first time NATO has ended an operation it started. And it comes on the heels of an historic victory for the people of Libya who, with NATO’s help, transformed their country from an international pariah into a nation with the potential to become a productive partner with the West.

Seven months ago, the Libyan people were under threat and attack by the armed gangs commanded by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the strongman who had brutally ruled Libya for 42 years. Within 10 days of the U.N.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalOTAN

Has the Atlantic alliance outlived its usefulness? The British journalist and historian Geoffrey Wheatcroft raised that question in an opinion article on Thursday, commenting on the speech by Robert Gates in Brussels last week in which the outgoing U.S. defense secretary accused other members of the Atlantic alliance of not pulling their financial and political weight. Ivo H. Daalder, the U.S. permanent representative to NATO, joins the debate.

“Who needs NATO?” asks Geoffrey Wheatcroft. A good question, with a simple answer: We all do.

NATO is, as President Obama has said, “the most successful alliance in human history”. During its first 40 years, it won the Cold War.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalOTAN

When the 28 NATO allies gather in Lisbon on Friday, one of the most important issues on the agenda will be how to address a real and growing danger to the trans-Atlantic region: the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

Today, NATO confronts a security environment like no other in its history. The threat of major conventional conflict in Europe — the worry at NATO’s founding — has virtually vanished.

The agenda of the 1990s — extending the principles of democracy, individual liberty and rule of law to the whole of Europe — is far from finished, but on track.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaDefensa y SeguridadInternacionalOTAN

Thousands of miles from the “capital of Europe,” NATO and E.U. forces work side by side to achieve common security objectives. Yet we rarely bridge the four miles between the two headquarters in Brussels, and as a result our efforts are far less effective than they can and should be.

In Afghanistan, NATO and the European Union share the same goal — enhancing the Afghan government’s capacity to provide stability, security and good governance for its people and eliminate the extremist threat. Off the coast of Somalia, NATO and E.U. ships plow the same seas — countering the pestilence of piracy.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

When it comes to engaging Iran -- a signature theme of his foreign policy -- Barack Obama is taking his share of criticism. Republican rival John McCain predictably denounces Obama's call for direct talks with Iran, while his foreign policy aide Randy Scheunemann labels that approach nothing less than "unilateral cowboy summitry."

More surprisingly, some Europeans also seem wary of Obama's proposed change in U.S. policy. They argue that the international community must not abandon its official line that no negotiations with Iran may take place unless Tehran suspends its uranium enrichment program. This month unnamed European officials told The Post's Glenn Kessler that they "feel strongly about continuing on the current path," and one French analyst even accused Obama of unilaterally "dropping Security Council conditions."…  Seguir leyendo »