Showing user profile of selected author: - Kyle Atwell
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
In-House News on Tuesday, February 10. 2009
Dear friends and beloved Atlantic Review readership:
Due to a change in profession and the subsequent time-consuming training involved in my new position I will be taking a hiatus from Atlantic Review for the next several months.
I enjoy the privelege of writing and engaging with you on important transatlantic issues, and look forward to the day when I can return as a full editor. In the meantime, Atlantic Review is always accepting guest articles and applications for new editors.
If you would like to get ahold of me while away, please feel free to shoot me an email at kyle.atwell [at] atlanticreview.org.
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
US Domestic and Cultural Issues on Wednesday, January 21. 2009
Obama took the oath of office yesterday to become the 44th President of the United States. The swearing-in was followed by his inaugural address, historically an opportunity for incoming presidents to be visionary and inspirational. Some of the most famous quotes in US political history are from inaugural addresses, such as JFK's "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" (1961) and FDR's "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" (1933).
So how did Obama do? Was it a new landmark in the US rhetorical hall-of-fame? If you were looking to be inspired, this speech probably fell short. He covered all the key issues and took a "it's busines time" tone, but it did not quite carry the poetic and inspiring overtures that an inaugural address could. Or perhaps like many Americans and citizens of the world I have come to expect miracles from Obama at every turn, and have thereby set myself up for disappointment. The full text of the speech can be found here.
Obama did have powerful words for non-Americans around the globe:
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.
Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expediences sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Continue reading "Torch passed to Obama, 44th President; top 8 transatlantic relations issues for 2009"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Tuesday, January 13. 2009
It is time for Obama to bring his change campaign to NATO, writes James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation in Washington Times. Carafano argues Obama should use NATO's 60th anniversary to launch a new vision for the military alliance, which he refers to as NATO 2.0. Specifically NATO needs to take action on five major issues: 1. Identify common threats; 2. Reaffirm NATO's commitment to an open-door policy that does not give Russia veto-power; 3. Establish a more flexible decision-making process; 4. Clearly identify roles between EU and NATO, with NATO doing military and EU doing more of the constabulary non-military “soft power” missions that it excels at; 5. Develop new burden-sharing rules.
All of these are important issues that should be considered; in fact, most are already being debated within the Alliance. However, each of them will also face an uphill battle in the reform process.
Consider proposition five, developing new burden-sharing rules. Carafano argues that a country should lose voting powers if it fails to match the two-percent defense spending requirement set by NATO. At this time, only five European countries meet this requirement, three of those with declining defense budgets, according to 2007 numbers released by NATO (pdf).
Continue reading "NATO 2.0: Five ways Obama should bring "change" to Alliance"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
European Issues on Friday, January 9. 2009
Ukraine enters 2009 stuck between a bear and a hard place.
The hard place is the west, who is like a friend who always says your invitation to the party is in the mail, but it never shows up. Since the 2004 Orange Revolution Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has pushed and pulled to move Ukraine toward EU and NATO membership, and yet its prospects remain shrouded in ambiguity. While NATO has promised future membership someday, the Alliance decided to not move forward with Membership Action Plans for either Ukraine or Georgia at a NATO summit in December, again leaving them in limbo.
And then there is the bear: Ukraine’s slow push west is a thorn in the toe of Russia who considers Ukraine part of its sphere of influence, and is increasingly tenacious in bearing its chilling grizzly teeth. 2009 is not likely to bring much warmer relations for Ukraine with either the west or Russia. I wrote about Ukraine’s improbable 2009 NATO prospects in a post titled "Why Ukrainian’s don’t want NATO". Regarding Ukraine’s easterly neighbor, Russia has launched the new year with a cut off of gas to Ukraine leaving it and a baker's dozen of European countries with (in some cases drastically) reduced gas supplies at a time when it is cold in Europe, very cold.
The reasons for Russia’s gas power play are both economic and political.
Continue reading "Europe's very cold war: Russia cuts gas to Ukraine"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Monday, January 5. 2009
Israel’s land invasion continues with the Jewish state showing little sign it is ready to negotiate a truce. While Hamas has indicated it is prepared to begin negotiations, Israel does not intend to sit at the table with Hamas in any future negotiations, reports Haaretz:
Israel will instead seek separate agreements with moderate Arab states, with the Palestinian Authority and with the international community.
"The international community will initiate the agreements and will impose it on Hamas," [a Haaretz] source said. "The agreements will be with both the PA and Egypt and then if Hamas will not agree it will pay the price, mostly by even greater [diplomatic] isolation."
Despite disallowing signals from Israel about the prospects of their short-term success, the ever-ambitious Sarkozy is taking advantage of the US power vacuum to assume diplomatic leadership in the talks, hoping to capitalize on France’s controversially reinvigorated ties with Syria, Time reports:
Continue reading "Sarkozy pilots Middle East cease-fire talks, fills US power vacuum"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Friday, December 19. 2008
In an anticipated move, Gordon Brown announced that the remaining 4,100 UK troops will leave Iraq by the end of July. Mr. Brown is quoted by the BBC:
I feel that the task that we set out to do is being done and that's why we can take a decision to bring most of our forces home.
The Times Online is less cheery, characterizing Britain’s withdrawal as “a humiliating proposal that lumps the once-valued deployment with five smaller contingents, including those of Romania, El Salvador and Estonia.”
Continue reading "Britain to leave Iraq (in shame?), increase troops to Afghanistan"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Monday, December 8. 2008
NATO foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on December 2 for a two-day meeting. The full final communiqué released by NATO can be found here.
The ministerial focused primarily on the future of NATO enlargement (particularly Ukraine and Georgia), US plans for missile defense in Europe, relations with Russia (strongly related to the previous two issues), and ongoing operations (mostly on Afghanistan and to a lesser degree Kosovo). Here is a roundup of articles that address the key outcomes of the ministerial:
Continue reading "NATO foreign ministers meeting press round-up"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Tuesday, November 25. 2008
Between 55 to 65 percent of Ukrainians oppose joining NATO, according to recent surveys. Andrew Bishop, a freelance journalist and blogger at What You Must Read, addresses the issue of “Why Ukrainians Don’t Want NATO” in the Diplomatic Courier:
1. “Ukraine remains an eternally “torn country” with approximately 17 percent of its population being ethnic Russian…
... after the Georgian crisis, where Russia justified its intervention in terms of defending Russian citizens, the Ukrainian authorities remained concerned that this scenario could be repeated in the Crimea.”
2. Ukraine, one of the first victims of Russia’s “energy imperialism” back in 2006 when the Kremlin cut the country’s gas supplies for several days, has no desire to experience that wrath again. Already the country’s power bill has been increasing by the year, and with winter approaching, few would argue that now is the time to test the fierceness of Moscow’s Putin-Medvedev tandem.”
And third, constant political fighting between Ukraine's political leaders means: “In short, few Ukrainians see the current period as the right one for engaging in a battle over NATO, whether it be amongst themselves or against Russia.”
Continue reading "Why Ukrainians don't want NATO"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Saturday, November 22. 2008
Georgetown professor Charles King argues the United States needs to hold Georgia accountable for its role in last August's conflict with Russia (Foreign Policy):
The Russian military response was precipitous and brazen, and has rightly been condemned by outside powers, but the next U.S. administration must learn that brinkmanship is a game that countries can play with friends as well as adversaries. U.S. officials warned Tbilisi of the dangers of using military force, but Saakashvili escalated his rhetoric anyway and took advantage of Western statements that Georgia’s path toward consolidated democracy and NATO membership were guaranteed. A history of mixed messages coming from the United States contributed to the Georgian government’s sense that a quick, successful war would meet with U.S. approval.
Continue reading "Western rapprochement with Russia: capitulation or pragmatism?"
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Thursday, November 20. 2008
Soner Cagaptay writes a letter to President-Elect Obama in Newsweek warning that Turkey, a NATO ally, is The Most Anti-American Nation:
Dear President-Elect Obama: As you take office, I am enthusiastically watching your desire to win hearts and minds around the world. But I am concerned in particular about Turkey. This nation is the embodiment of what the United States and the West want to achieve around the world. It is predominantly Muslim, yet Western and democratic. But the Turks are vehemently anti-American, so much so that they consistently rank in polls as the most anti-American country in the world. According to the Pew Center's latest poll, only 12 percent of the Turks like the United States—fewer, even, than the percentage of Pakistanis. Obamania in Turkey will help you change America's image, but given the dismal numbers, I am afraid that might not be enough. Despite the close cooperation with the United States on Iraq, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has taken the easy way, bashing America at home in an attempt to boost its own popularity. But you should not ignore Turkey. Because of its strategic location, Turkey is a key partner to the United States in tackling many foreign-policy challenges. You will need Turkish support and the Turkish base at Incirlik to achieve many of your goals, such as withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Turkish frustration with the European Union is understandable considering Europeans have been teasing Turkey with the prospect of EU membership for decades. A series of essays on Turkey - EU relations is available in the most recent issue of Re-public journal titled “Turkey – European Union: A long-standing misunderstanding” (HT: Kevin Hilke)
On the other hand, anti-US sentiment is a little more surprising. Cagaptay’s argument that Turkey is the most anti-American country (or at least very close to it) is further corroborated by polls from the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, which show Turks as having one of the lowest “very favorable” views toward the US at about 2% and the highest “very unfavorable” rating at 75% (PDF: poll on world perspective toward the US on page 6).
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
European Issues on Monday, November 17. 2008
“Prejudice in Europe is more than skin deep”, writes Columbia University historian Mark Mazower in the Financial Times:
Europeans find it hard adjusting to a colour-blind world. Indeed their hesitancy is growing. In Austria, the extreme right carved out big gains in September’s general elections. Pope Benedict weighed in over the summer to warn against a possible resurgence of fascist values in Italy. Europe as a whole, according to recent polls, has become significantly more xenophobic over the past few years. Fears of Islamic terrorism and anxiety about globalisation have fed this trend. So has fervent anti-European Union sentiment, strongly correlated to populist anti-immigrant rhetoric. By contrast, Mr Obama’s story is that of the immigrant dream, a tale of upwardly-mobile success that cut decisively across race lines. Immigrant voters played a decisive electoral role in Mr Obama’s win, yet immigration – for all the prior public debate – figured little as a campaign issue.
It will be interesting to see if a black president in America will reverse the trend of rising xenophobia in Europe cited by Mazower. Al Jazeera also poses an interesting question, "Will the 'Obama effect' encourage more diversity in global politics?"
See also from Atlantic Review: * Five Reasons Obama Would not be Elected in Europe
Posted by Kyle Atwell in
Transatlantic Relations on Saturday, November 15. 2008
The UK may send an additional 2,000 troops to Afghanistan if President-elect Obama makes a request to allies, according to the BBC:
The BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins said British officials had told him there would be negotiations with the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, "and more than one has told me to expect agreement for between 1,500 and 2,000 extra British troops."
The Defense Ministry has made no official commitment, but there is little doubt Britain will feel pressure to contribute more, particularly considering the US will be increasingly focused on Afghanistan under the Obama administration, to include raising troop levels itself.
However, sending more troops will be no easy decision for Britain's politicians; public opposition to maintaining British troops in Afghanistan is strong according to a recent survey reported by the BBC:
ICM asked a random sample of 1,013 adults whether or not Britain should withdraw its armed forces from Afghanistan within the next 12 months.
More than two-thirds (68%) of those questioned said the UK should pull its soldiers out during the next year. Less than a quarter (24%) said they believed the troops should remain.
I am curious if the majority of Brits and others across Europe who supported Obama were aware of his intention to intensify Western efforts in Afghanistan, and what that might mean for them? It will be interesting to see how the European public responds when these requests inevitably begin to arrive from the iconic new American president. See also from Atlantic Review:* Is Europe "Ready to be Obama stakeholders, not free-riders"?
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