Commentary

Michael Clarke on Westminster Hour RUSI Director Michael Clarke, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, suggests that Gordon Brown has the chance to bring European powers together as they readjust to the forthcoming Obama administration.
10 Nov 2008

Obama, Bush and US policy in Latin America The position Barack Obama will inherit in Latin America is stronger than is often claimed. Making real progress in the region, however, will prove difficult for the President-elect.
7 Nov 2008

The Prospects for Missile Defence in an Obama Administration There are unlikely to be early and major changes to US plans for Missile Defence under an Obama Administration. But as the Russians plan to install missiles in a possible response to the initiative, debates on the controversial European ‘Third Site’ segment of the US defensive shield could well intensify.
6 Nov 2008

The Bush Legacy: The next President will have a better hand than expected President Obama has promised to learn from his predecessor’s failures. But he may also end up benefiting from some of Bush’s foreign policy achievements, however meagre these may be.
6 Nov 2008

The Obama Revolution: From Hustings to Reality The Obama campaign turned American politics upside down. His approach to campaign financing revolutionised the rules of the game, stirred unprecedented interest, and a larger, more informed electorate. Obama has transformed American politics, but will he revolutionise American foreign policy?
5 Nov 2008

A Sigh of Relief from the Allies: But Questions for the Future Will Be a Lot Harder As a Result As leaders celebrate an Obama victory across European capitals, they should also be prepared to deal with a hard-faced man under pressure who will feel he has the right to expect much more from European partners.
5 Nov 2008

Speech summary - NATO’s Twenty-first Century Challenges: the Road Ahead Speaking at RUSI earlier this week, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General John Cradock outlined how NATO is managing its procedural and strategic challenges. He argued that success is within the alliance’s reach if it can develop a comprehensive, integrated and flexible approach and the necessary political will.
22 Oct 2008

Strategic aspects of the credit crunch The credit crunch is making people wonder about geo-strategic analogies and think differently about risk. Possibly the main strategic danger is that politicians pre-occupied by financial crises will not respond with adequate speed to potentially explosive strategic issues.
8 Oct 2008

‘No Global’: NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at RUSI Despite operations in Afghanistan, the NATO Secretary General confirmed to a RUSI audience that the alliance has no ambition to become a global policeman. Events in the Caucasus have helped put this fact into perspective.
19 Sep 2008

The US, Georgia, and Russia Unable to offer Georgia military support, the United States has been left in an uncomfortable position where it could not be seen to be abandoning one of its most important regional allies. Still worse lies ahead: it must reassure the East Europeans that the Georgia episode is not the start of a 'softer' policy towards Russia, and it may also have to rebut accusations that, through its vocal support for Georgia, it actually encouraged that country's leadership into the military adventure.
12 Aug 2008

Trying terrorist suspects in US Military Commissions The recent conviction and sentence of Salim Hamdan for ‘supporting terrorism’ only serves to highlight the problems presented by Military Commissions. With the closure of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay after the US Elections now almost a certainty, their days are numbered.
12 Aug 2008

Le quattro sfide esistenziali della NATO In light of recent events, this article highlights the four main challenges facing NATO, namely: strategic drift, inadequate capacity, financial woes and insufficient co-ordination with other International Organisations. The future strength of NATO will be in danger if its member states do not face up to these four pressing challenges. (IN ITALIAN)
8 Jul 2008

No Clear Frontrunner, but a Very Clear Direction in the US Primary Elections The US primaries are not yet decided, but the future course of America’s foreign and security policy is already clear: a more cooperative and humbler US, and one which wishes to work with its allies. The tilt to the 'left' in Washington is both significant, and unmistakable.
6 Feb 2008

American Impressions of Gordon Brown In Washington, although Brown's foreign policy does not appear much different to Americans, the UK seems to have lost some prestige.
3 Dec 2007

The Overly Simplistic Logic of Washington’s Pakistan Policy The simplistic logic of US policy in Pakistan which posits a dichotomy between these two core aims is misleading and should lead to a broader reassessment of US policy in the war on terror.
3 Dec 2007

Capabilities and Assets for Civil-Military Projects in Afghanistan The NATO mission in Afghanistan has been constantly beleaguered by a civil- military divide. The challenge now is to build up civilian capacity so that they can take the reins.
29 Oct 2007

Analysis of Petraeus' and Crocker's comments at RUSI The Ambassador and General gave a frank but guarded summary of the situation in Iraq and then fielded questions.
19 Sep 2007

Petraeus Report: Assessing the Surge On Monday 10 September General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker presented an upbeat report on the 'Surge policy' promulgated earlier this year. RUSI's experts give their initial reaction and RUSI.org offers background information to the conflict and to policy.
11 Sep 2007

Bridging the Gap Dr. Michael Williams speaks with Newsweek Interantional about improving US-European relations.
3 Sep 2007

Subversive Markets: The Economic Roots of the Iraq Insurgency Ian Siperco examines the political economy of the insurgency in Iraq, and the informal economic activity that sustains it.
31 Jul 2007

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