Center for a New American Security
Julianne Smith is a senior fellow and director of the strategy and statecraft program at the Center for a New American Security. From 2012-2013 she served as deputy national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden. Before that, she was director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Trump declines to endorse NATO's Article 5 In deference to President Trump, NATO leaders agreed not to focus on Russia during this week's summit. At today's opening session, they hoped he'd endorse the Alliance's Article 5 -- the principal that "an attack on one member nation is an attack on all.” Instead, he lectured about defense spending and "fairness" to the United States, even though the only time NATO's ever invoked Article 5 was after September 11. What are the consequences for Europe's trust in America as the leader of the free world since World War II? Thanks to Devan Schwartz for production assistance.
Diplomacy, Dictators and Double-Speak at the United Nations On the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, Presidents Obama and Putin both said today that diplomacy, not force, is the hope of the future. Each accused the other of making the world more dangerous — at the same time offering to work together to restore order in a violent world. But, while their goals may sound the same, their differences -- on Syria, Ukraine and other places of conflict -- will make agreements difficult, if not impossible. Russia may not be not the superpower the Soviet Union was, but Putin is finding ways to challenge Obama as a world leader.
The NATO Summit in Bucharest The North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance was formed 59 years ago after the end of World War II. Its mission is often described as avoiding World War III by keeping the Germans down, the Russians out and the Americans in. It succeeded. The Cold War is over, and NATO membership has grown from twelve countries to 26. Most US allies wanted to wait until the sixtieth anniversary next year, but President Bush wanted another summit before he left office, and he's now in Bucharest, Romania for three days of meetings . He wants more NATO troops in Afghanistan, more member nations, and approval of applications from Ukraine and Georgia. Russia's President Putin could not ignore that challenge, and it's not expected to happen. We look at the prospects for Afghanistan. Is the alliance itself becoming a two-tier institution, with some members letting others do the heavy lifting? Has NATO outlived its usefulness?
The Forgotten War in Afghanistan Six years after driving the Taliban from power, the Bush Administration faces the prospect of failure in Afghanistan. Levels of violence are higher than ever. Although major combat will decline during winter, suicide bombings and roadside explosions will likely continue. As winter sets in, and major combat declines, both the US and NATO are "reviewing their missions." What about corruption in local government and flagging support from the nations of Europe? We talk to a colonel who has learned the Pushtunwali —the Pushtun tribal code of honor, and whose Task Force Fury troops are building roads, schools and clinics six south-eastern provinces.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?