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"The Necessity of NATO" by Anders Fogh Rasmussen Exit from comment view mode. Click to hide this space BRUSSELS – Many years ago, I took my children to visit the sites of the D-Day landings in Normandy. I wanted them to understand the sacrifices that others had made so that Europe and North America could enjoy the benefits of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We saw the beaches whose names echo through history – Omaha, Utah, Juno. A New U.S. Grand Strategy The strategic landscape of the 21st century has finally come into focus. The great global project is no longer to stop communism, counter terrorists, or promote a superficial notion of freedom. Rather, the world must accommodate 3 billion additional middle-class aspirants in two short decades -- without provoking resource wars, insurgencies, and the devastation of our planet's ecosystem. For this we need a strategy. The status quo is untenable. In the United States, the country's economic engine is misaligned to the threats and opportunities of the 21st century.

"Why Europe Still Needs Nuclear Deterrence" by Imants Liegis , Linas Linkevičius and Janusz Onyszkiewicz Exit from comment view mode. Click to hide this space RIGA/VILNIUS/WARSAW – In recent months, we have joined discussions led by former United States Senator Sam Nunn, former British Minister of Defense Lord Desmond Browne, and others to find a way to reduce nuclear weapons in Europe. U.S., Mexico should develop their economic bond Enrique Peña Nieto is president-elect of Mexico. Both Mexico and the United States held presidential races this year, and the results offer an opportunity to redirect our countries’ bilateral relationship. The U.S. election demonstrated the growing demographic bonds that connect our countries’ futures. "Globalizing NATO" by Anne-Marie Slaughter Exit from comment view mode. Click to hide this space PRINCETON – Next week, NATO’s 28 members will meet in Chicago for their annual summit.

U.S. expands counterterrorism assistance in Cambodia in spite of human rights concerns The Pentagon is expanding counterterrorism assistance to unlikely corners of the globe as part of a strategy to deploy elite Special Operations forces as advisers to countries far from al-Qaeda’s strongholds in the Middle East and North Africa. Much of the new assistance is being directed toward countries in Asia and has been fueled by the Obama administration’s strategic “pivot” to the region. In Cambodia, for example, the Defense Department is training a counterterrorism battalion even though the nation has not faced a serious militant threat in nearly a decade. The training has persisted despite concerns about the human rights record of Cambodia’s authoritarian ruler, former Khmer Rouge commander Hun Sen, who in the past has relied on his military to execute and intimidate political opponents. President Obama, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are scheduled to make rare visits to Cambodia this week and next to attend a regional summit.

The NATO-industrial complex - NATO “Optics!” hissed the NATO summit staffer. “Jesus Christ, optics!” Canada New Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiating Partner Washington, D.C. – President Obama announced today that the United States and the eight other countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement have extended an invitation to Canada to join the TPP negotiations, pending successful conclusion of domestic procedures. In addition to the United States, the current TPP countries are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. “Inviting Canada to join the TPP negotiations presents a unique opportunity for the United States to build upon this already dynamic trading relationship. Through TPP, we are bringing the relationship with our largest trading partner into the 21st century,” said Ambassador Kirk.

The Alliance Gathers This week, Chicago will host the 25th Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The stakes are high: the capitals of nearly all NATO member nations are wrestling with unprecedented economic challenges -- fiscal crises that have forced unwelcome austerity measures, declining defense budgets, and weak economic growth -- as well as a rapidly evolving security situation, including rogue nations with nuclear ambitions, unrest in the Middle East, instability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and global terrorism. Noting all these challenges, critics have lamented the "decline of the West," and have started to question NATO's relevance. It is hardly the first time they have done so.

Integrated electric grid for United States, Canada November 27, 2012 Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Energy Velocity. The Goldilocks Arsenal - By J. Peter Scoblic On Wednesday, May 16, just days before the leaders of NATO countries meet in Chicago to discuss the future of the military alliance, retired Gen. James Cartwright, former head of U.S. nuclear forces, dropped his own bomb: a report arguing that the United States could reduce the number of nuclear weapons it deploys by two-thirds and the number of warheads it keeps in reserve by nearly 90 percent. Calls for lower numbers are not new, certainly not from groups dedicated to nuclear disarmament like the one Cartwright worked with -- and not even among former heads of Strategic Command.

Mexican immigration to U.S. at a standstill By msnbc.com staff and news services WASHINGTON -- Faced with a persistently weak economy, the number of immigrants flowing into the United States from Mexico has declined for the first time in decades, according to a study released on Monday. An analysis of census data from the U.S. and Mexican governments details the movement to and from Mexico, a nation accounting for nearly 60 percent of the illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The Future of North American Integration North American Regional MeetingToronto, Ontario - Nov. 1-2, 2002Opening Session Three papers (download here) have been prepared by authors from Canada (Wendy Dobson), Mexico (Luis Rubio) and the United States (Robert Pastor) to provide a framework for discussion at the opening session of our November 1-2 meeting. None of the papers purports to represent the positions of the three governments or even a sense of the debate on the issue of integration within each of the countries.

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