ASIA
Can Abe Revive Japan?
Japan has the tools to transform its strategic position, from resource exploitation to nuclear weapons. To a significant degree, the matter is now very much in the hands of one man: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
EN CLAIR | Markale in Damascus? Islamists Used “Self-Bombing” to Incite US Strikes
A Report on an Issue of Strategic Importance
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Africa and Iran: Iran and Sudan Begin Moves to Dominate Central and Western Africa
The Central African Republic has become a key player, working under Sudanese and Iranian direction, in jihadist action, geared to take advantage of the West’s declining influence in Western and Central Africa, even if it challenges the interests of Iran’s and Sudan’s traditional ally, the People’s…
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Victory in Syria: But For Whom?
The US White House, under President Barack Obama, was, by the end of May 2013, considering how to begin more direct engagement in the fighting inside Syria.
PERSONNEL
Key Transitions and Defense and Intelligence Appointments - 03/2013
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Geostrategic Architecture: Suspended Belief
Even North Korea’s strategic brinkmanship has links to the Eastern Mediterranean/Northern Tier crises, but, with everyone so focused on their own geographic area of interest, nobody notices the big picture. It’s as though all beliefs have become suspended in bubbles of jargon.
CULTURE, PSYCHOLOGY & MEDIA
Alexander Haig: Unsung Hero
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Complex Soup: The “Eastern-Mediterranean, Central-Asian, East Asian, Euro-Atlantic and Others” Unified Dilemma
A butterfly flaps its wings at a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in North Korea, and a political equation becomes a tidal wave in Tehran. It’s more complicated than that, but, yes, everything is related.
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Military Doctrine: The Legacy of Coalition Warfare
US Defense reorganization means major doctrinal re-thinking, not just for the US, but for its Allies. The debate now begins on how to get back to sustainable — politically and economically — warfighting doctrines after the strategic failure of “overwhelming wealth”.
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Strategic Affairs: No Contest
The US-Iran-Israel Stand-Off: No Conflict in Sight; But for the US, No Success for Embargoes; No Ability to Constrain Nuclear Weapons. The Real War is Between Iran and Turkey.