At The Week, Daniel Larison makes a case for the disbandment of NATO, saying that it is now being used as cover to expand American interests into the Middle East and Africa (emph. mine):

The Alliance is not only outdated for America’s European allies, who increasingly see no reason to participate in “out-of-area” missions, but also functions as a potential enabler of American involvement in parts of Asia and Africa where no vital American interests are at stake. By keeping NATO in existence, Washington leaves itself open to the temptation to meddle in far-flung parts of the globe, even as it provides the superficial “multilateral” cover to make U.S. military intervention overseas more politically palatable.| MORE ›

The American Enterprise Institute published a new report about the war in Afghanistan. Considering that the Obama administration is currently reviewing a request from the top U.S. military commander in the region to send more troops or face defeat, the timing of “Enemy Reactions to the US Strategy and Force-Sizing Options” couldn’t have been better.| MORE ›

This post is authored for PoliGazette by Robert Ellis. As usual, guests posts do not necessarily reflect the opinion of PoliGazette or any of its authors.

Three weeks ago Stephen Kinzer claimed in The Guardian that NATO had “dissed” the Muslim world by nominating Danish PM Rasmussen as its new secretary-general. But the boot is on the other foot.| MORE ›

The Dutch have – finally - joined the battle against Somali pirates. Earlier today, the Dutch navy announced it captured seven priates and freed 20 of their captives:

The Dutch navy captured seven suspected Somali pirates and freed 20 captives in the strategic Gulf of Aden shipping lane on Saturday, Dutch and NATO authorities said.

“This morning we intercepted a request for assistance from a Greek-owned ship from the | MORE ›

Arthur Herman wrote one of the best commentaries on the war between Georgia and Russia I have had the pleasure to read. In his commentary Herman does not merely analyze why the war erupted, rather, he summarizes how Western politicians and pundits responded to the naked Russian aggression.

As Herman writes, Western leaders may have been hesitant simply because they are in a position of power.| MORE ›