President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau met virtually last week (February 24th) to discuss a spate of issues defining the new North American relationship, including plans to upgrade and modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The meeting, a relieving return to normality between the partners whose relationship had
U.S. and NATO forces deployed to the Black Sea in recent weeks have been met with an undeterred Russian response, prompting security concerns in the strategically important region. The USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer, joined others as a steadfast reaction to growing Russian militarization of the waters, which have re-emerged
Several of the world’s most senior decision-makers came together on February 19th for a special edition of the Munich Security Conference, each sharing reflections on challenges and hope for a new transatlantic relationship. For the first time in its long history, a sitting U.S. president attended the virtual discussion as
President Biden’s administration began an anticipated review of U.S. arms sales to several Middle Eastern countries last week, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates who have been heavily involved in the coalition intervention in Yemen. The move, which will seek to review commitments made across the Trump administration
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), often referred to as the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, officially entered into force on 22 January 2021. The landmark treaty, the first of its kind, obligates signatories to refrain from the development and testing of nuclear weapons and enforces remediation on
A joint strategy issued by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps last week has raised further concern about the future of peaceful coexistence in the Arctic. The strategy, which follows similar plans by the Air Force and is expected to be joined shortly by a strategy from the Army, is
At least two people, including the head of an independent elections watchdog, were killed in a shooting and bomb attack in Afghanistan on the morning of December 23rd. The attack is the latest in the troubled Asian state’s recent spate of killings, and provided further challenges for peacemakers, who have been
Diplomats from NATO this week released a statement reaffirming the organization’s opposition to the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as the agreement neared its global implementation in January. The three-point message sent a clear signal of intent to policymakers who have spent more than a decade
In the continued fallout following the assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in Tehran in November, leading European powers issued a joint statement this week to urge Iran to keep its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal. The warning, which followed a series of escalatory measures by the
