Articles written by Richard Weitz
By Richard Weitz
31 Jan 2012 |
Column
On Jan. 26, the Pentagon released further information about how the new Defense Strategic Guidance will be reflected in the Defense Department’s future spending priorities. The changes, designed to meet the White House’s mandate to cut $37 billion from its previously planned Fiscal Year 2013 defense budget, conform with the strategic guidance document, but they leave several questions unanswered.
By Richard Weitz
24 Jan 2012 |
Column
On Jan. 15, in polling that the OSCE characterized as not meeting the “fundamental principles of democratic elections,” the ruling Nur Otan party won more than 80 percent of votes cast. Though Kazakhstan has developed the administrative machinery necessary to hold free and fair elections, further changes in its electoral procedures are needed to increase the prospects of this breakthrough occurring.
By Richard Weitz
17 Jan 2012 |
Column
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Latin American tour last week was noticeable for its lack of achievements. The trip again underscored the gap between Tehran’s global ambitions and its constrained capabilities. Iran has yet to establish the means to challenge core U.S. economic, security and other interests in Latin America, and there is little likelihood of that changing in the future.
By Richard Weitz
17 Jan 2012 |
Report
External threats and internal tensions have characterized the history of Iraq since its emergence as a nation-state. Now that all U.S. military forces have left the country, Iraq’s government once again faces the challenge of overcoming internal divisions, even as it becomes fully responsible for Iraq’s security for the first time since 2003. Iraqi leaders must manage these interrelated challenges while trying to reintegrate Iraq into the regional and international order.
By Richard Weitz
10 Jan 2012 |
Column
Both the Obama administration and its opponents have exaggerated the significance of the Pentagon’s new Defense Strategic Guidance that was issued last week. The truth is that the Strategic Guidance and the thinking behind it represent not revolutionary change but a retrospective doctrinal blessing of Pentagon policies that have been guiding the U.S. military’s evolution for several years already.
By Richard Weitz
03 Jan 2012 |
Column
The past year was an eventful one for NATO, but despite the success of the alliance's intervention in Libya, persistent problems will continue to affect trans-Atlantic defense relations in the New Year. The U.S. will need to redouble its efforts to get European member states to commit resources to defense capabilities, with the NATO Summit this May providing an opportunity for high-level attention to the issue.
By Richard Weitz
20 Dec 2011 |
Column
Two uncertainties define the current succession process in North Korea. First, will the new leadership pursue aggressive or moderate foreign policies? Second, how should foreign countries respond to the new situation in Pyongyang? Although some indicators of future behavior should emerge in coming weeks, the succession process could take years to evolve, making both questions difficult to address.
By Richard Weitz
19 Dec 2011 |
Briefing
The death of around a dozen people over the weekend in western Kazakhstan follows months of strikes and violence. The exact reasons for the disturbances are unclear. Labor disputes, clan rivalries and resurgent Islamist militancy all seem to be at work. Whatever the causes, Kazakh authorities should heed the warning and ensure that the country’s upcoming legislative elections are free and fair.
By Richard Weitz
13 Dec 2011 |
Column
Last week’s Duma elections have identified several weaknesses in Russia’s political system that cannot easily be solved. To truly modernize, Russia must engage in more than the modest reforms that the Putin regime can tolerate. As a result, the current political order will probably survive, but the Putin system that has defined Russian politics since 2000 is unlikely to last beyond the next decade.
By Richard Weitz
06 Dec 2011 |
Column
On Nov. 28, the Turkish government imposed sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who Turkish leaders are now calling on to step down. Thus far, the Turkish government has relied on diplomatic, political and economic instruments to achieve its goals of regime change in Syria. But the possibility of military intervention, though still unlikely, is becoming more plausible.
By Richard Weitz
01 Dec 2011 |
Report
In light of the imminent return of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the Russian presidency, it is worth revisiting the mixed legacy of his previous eight years in that office and highlighting the significant changes in the regional and global environment that have impacted Russia’s foreign and defense policies in the four years since he left it.
By Richard Weitz
29 Nov 2011 |
Column
On Nov. 23, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO that it needs to address Moscow’s security concerns over its plans for European ballistic missile defense (BMD) or face renewed confrontation. Since he listed a series of demands that, while not unreasonable, cannot be met by NATO governments, the next Russian and American presidential terms will probably see renewed battling over the BMD issue.
By Richard Weitz
22 Nov 2011 |
Column
In a speech last Friday in Washington, Viktor Ivanov, Russia’s drug czar, laid out an ambitious agenda for increased Russia-U.S. cooperation in several counternarcotics areas, characterized by “new thinking” on a variety of issues. In other respects, however, Ivanov’s presentation was consistent with his previous positions, meaning obstacles to cooperation will remain.
By Richard Weitz
15 Nov 2011 |
Column
Despite expectations, the 10th Meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held last week did not announce the addition of any new full members or full observers. The existing members have proven unable to overcome their differences regarding which countries should receive membership or observer status. Indeed, some appear to fear that enlargement would weaken the organization.
By Richard Weitz
08 Nov 2011 |
Column
According to media reports, the latest International Atomic Energy Agency assessment of Iran's nuclear program due out this week will find that Iran has made considerable progress in developing a nuclear weapons capacity despite international sanctions, cyber attacks and other impediments. As a result, Iran will soon be in the position to develop nuclear weapons should its leaders decide to pursue them.
By Richard Weitz
01 Nov 2011 |
Column
One purpose of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent trip to Afghanistan and Central Asia was to secure the flow of military supplies entering Afghanistan through the Northern Distribution Network. Another was to promote Afghanistan’s economic integration with the region. Both tasks are essential, but we cannot allow the first to distract us from the long-term necessity of the second.
By Richard Weitz
25 Oct 2011 |
Column
Turkey’s military operation on both sides of its border with Iraq highlights the recurring problem confronting its fight against Kurdish terrorists: The Kurdish population straddles Turkey’s borders with Iraq, Iran and Syria. All four countries share an interest in suppressing Kurdish separatism and violence, but each has also found Kurdish terrorism to be a useful tool to pressure the others.
By Richard Weitz
18 Oct 2011 |
Column
For decades Turkey loyally aligned its foreign and defense policies with those of the U.S. and its other NATO allies. But since the Justice and Development Party came to power in 2002, the Turkish government has sought to develop new partnerships, while calling into question old ones, such as with Israel. Many now want to know how Turkey intendeds to pursue ties with NATO, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
By Richard Weitz
11 Oct 2011 |
Column
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin followed up his unsurprising declaration that he would again seek the presidency with a more surprising call: to create what he called a "Eurasian Union." The project reflects Putin's desire for Russia to again lead a multinational bloc of tightly bound, former Soviet republics. But major obstacles stand in the way, and the prospects of such a union emerging anytime soon are small.
By Richard Weitz
04 Oct 2011 |
Column
The recent U.S. claims that Pakistan's intelligence service have aided attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan; the discovery that Osama bin Laden had been living for years in central Pakistan; the U.S. special forces operation to kill him without the permission of Pakistan authorities: These and other controversies are surface manifestations of a deeper "trust deficit" between the United States and Pakistan.