Ukraine
Euro-Atlantic Approaches to Security – Reconciling NATO and the EU
19 June 2014
Is there a single approach to Euro-Atlantic security? If not, is that a bad thing? Heather Conley’s answer is ‘no’ to both questions. But that doesn’t mean NATO and the EU shouldn’t be talking to each other about complementarity, regionalization and, most importantly, future defense spending.
By Heather Conley for Europe’s World
This article was originally published as ‘Is it Fair to Say there is no Euro-Atlantic Security Approach?’ by Europe’s World on 16 May 2014.
Russian government and military actions over the past several weeks have dramatically changed Europe’s security landscape and fundamentally challenged Europe’s political order for the first time since the Cold War. And to address this task, NATO is the organisation of (only) choice. The problem is that there is no single Euro-Atlantic security approach. The Atlantic has two very different security providers: NATO and the European Union (in the form of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy or CSDP).
The EU’s security vision as articulated by CSDP has been adrift for many reasons. Although the CSDP was initially an attempt by some European leaders to be a counter-weight to U.S. defence policy, the de minimis results of CSDP thus far suggest that there exists little policy or budget enthusiasm to create – much less sustain – a robust European defence policy. Today, European defence policy is either expressed within a NATO framework or has been directed at bilateral security interests such as France’s operations in Mali and the Central African Republic. Of the 20 CSDP operations between 2003 and 2008, most missions were geographically located in Africa. Recent CSDP missions since 2012 have been civilian and very small in nature, focused nearly exclusively on training. The CSDP, as currently designed, is not able to defend Europe. Read the rest of this entry »
Thinking the Unthinkable in Ukraine
As Russian forces begin exercises on Ukraine’s border and continue their hold on Crimea, I worry about military escalation—unintentional and intentional. What fuels my concern about unintentional escalation is a disconcerting interaction I had last year with a Russian general at a NATO conference in Europe. I was leading a breakout session with a dozen generals and admirals from the region. I was taken aback as many of the Western European NATO officers began lamenting their individual countries’ declining defense budgets and their inability to keep up with American military capability. As complicated as things might be inside NATO, and as difficult as it is to rally collective action at times, NATO is still the premier military alliance in the world. No one is giving up on it, I assured them.
When the Russian general spoke, he leaned into the table and said, “When I was a young soldier in the Soviet Army during the Cold War, I thought of NATO like this…” and he held his hand into a powerful fist. “But now that I am serving with NATO as a liaison, I am thinking, this…” and his hand went limp and wobbly with a whiny sounding sigh. If this small interaction reflects in any way a wider view of NATO by Russian civilian and military leaders, NATO has its work cut out for it in demonstrating to Vladimir Putin that continued military aggression in Ukraine will be challenged. Read the rest of this entry »
20 March SWJ Roundup
Small Wars Journal Daily Roundup
Ukraine
Ukraine to Pull All Its Military From Crimea, Conceding Loss – NYT
Ukraine Makes Plans for Troops to Leave Crimea – WP
Ukraine ‘Planning Crimea Withdrawal’ – BBC
Pro-Russian Forces Seize Ukraine Navy HQ – VOA
Ukraine Forces Attacked by Pro-Russia Gunmen; Navy Facilities Seized – LAT
Russian Troops Take Over Another Ukrainian Naval Base in Crimea – Reuters
Ukraine Orders Troops to Leave Crimea, Russia Offers Better Pay – McClatchy
Cyber Peace Reigns Despite Russia, Ukraine Tensions – VOA
Russia’s Moves in Ukraine Seen as ‘Wake-Up Call’ for NATO – WP
US, NATO Warn Russia Faces ‘High Costs’ Over Crimea – VOA
NATO Secretary General: Russia Must Suffer Consequences – AFPS
US, European Allies to Step Up Sanctions on Russia – LAT
US Ponders Next Moves in Crimea Crisis – WP
Obama: No US ‘Military Excursion’ in Ukraine – WP
US Defense Chief Praises Ukraine’s Restraint in Crimea Crisis – Reuters
UN Chief Heads to Moscow, Kyiv – VOA
In Crimea, a Swell of Patriotism, But What is to Follow? – WP
For Moscow, Crimea May Prove an Expensive Prize – CSM
Ukraine Minister Says West Sure to Provide More Support – Reuters
Opinions on Ukraine from American and Foreign Media – VOA Roundup
A New Russian Order – WP Editorial
Russia and the Group of 8 – NYT Editorial
Saving Ukraine from Another Russian Heist – CSM Editorial
Crimea Shows US Can’t Step Back and Let Others Lead – CSM Opinion
A Fear of Russia – WP Opinion
A Way Forward for Ukraine – NYT Opinion
Crimea’s Silver Lining – WP Opinion
NATO’s Strategic Ace: Vladimir Putin – UPI Opinion
Putin’s Warped Reality – WP Opinion
How to Punish Putin – NYT Opinion
Making Putin Pay – WP Opinion
Why Sanctions Don’t Really Work – LAT Opinion
Russia / NATO
Russia’s Moves in Ukraine Seen as ‘Wake-Up Call’ for NATO – WP
Biden: US Will Respond to Aggression Against NATO Allies – VOA
Biden Signals Plans for More US Military Drills in the Baltics – USAT
Another Set of Wary Allies Seeks U.S. Reassurance – NYT
In Eastern Europe, Biden Finds Uncertain Allies – WP
European Leaders Seek Ways to Curb Dependence on Russian Gas – Reuters
NATO’s Strategic Ace: Vladimir Putin – UPI Opinion
Afghanistan
Watchdog: US May be Paying Salaries of ‘Ghost’ Afghan Policemen – S&S
Women Vital for Democratic Success in Afghanistan, UN Says – UPI
Razia Jan Fights to Educate Girls in Rural Afghanistan – CSM Read the rest of this entry »
Russia’s cyber weapons hit Ukraine: How to declare war without declaring war
By targeting the Ukrainian government with a cyber weapon, the Russians are able to effectively engage in an aggressive, kinetic act without actually declaring war, or other countries reacting like it is an act of war. This will not last forever.
A man looks at posters from an international campaign to support Ukraine in Kiev, March 12. Commentary contributor Alec Ross writes: ‘The absence of a set of broadly held norms and treaties governing the use of cyber weapons has not led to the firing of guns or launching of missiles, but this will not always be the case. We need something more than playground rules.’
Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Why U.S. Spies Get Putin Wrong
By Eli Lake March 2, 2014 4:40 PM The Daily Beast
The last time Russian troops invaded one of its neighbors, the U.S. intelligence community was also caught off guard.
The year was 2008 and the country was Georgia instead of the Ukraine. And just as in 2014, back then there were early signs that Moscow was serious—it was issuing visas to ethnic Russian speakers inGeorgia, like it’s doing now in Ukraine. U.S. analysts just didn’t believe Russia would go as far as it did.
Today, as in 2008, American policy makers have found themselves burned after trying to make Vladimir Putin a partner when Putin himself sees America as a rival. This has often led Republican and Democratic led administrations to find themselves flat footed in the face of Russian aggression and U.S. intelligence analysts racing to explain how they misread Putin’s motivations.
New Dimensions of U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Russia
Geopolitical Weekly
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 – 04:13
Stratfor By George Friedman
The struggle for some of the most strategic territory in the world took an interesting twist this week. Last week we discussed what appeared to be a significant shift in German national strategy in which Berlin seemed to declare a new doctrine of increased assertiveness in the world — a shift that followed intense German interest in Ukraine. This week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, in a now-famous cellphone conversation, declared her strong contempt for the European Union and its weakness and counseled the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine to proceed quickly and without the Europeans to piece together a specific opposition coalition before the Russians saw what was happening and took action.
This is a new twist not because it makes clear that the United States is not the only country intercepting phone calls, but because it puts U.S. policy in Ukraine in a new light and forces us to reconsider U.S. strategy toward Russia and Germany. Nuland’s cellphone conversation is hardly definitive, but it is an additional indicator of American strategic thinking.
