Foreign terrorist fighters joining the ranks of Islamic State and other militias in the Middle East are a growing threat to many countries, inside and outside the EU. On this backdrop, the EU Commission is launching a new program to help partner countries to counter radicalization in the …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2015
Islamic State theoreticians have honed battle and state plans
What is Islamic State’s (IS) political program? What is its ideology? Who are its theoreticians? The answers to these questions can be found in its propaganda. IS has transformed from an ultra-minority party into one of the major political actors in the Middle East within a few months. …
Read More »South China Sea: Time to change the name
The latest ASEAN summit has not thrown up any significant sign of an early resolution to the South China Sea disputes. As leaders pursue the necessary path of diplomacy, more decisive actions may be needed, including a change of name to the “Southeast Asia Sea”. ASEAN leaders held …
Read More »Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says new leaders are taking over
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is rising again under young new leaders despite the sentencing of former president Mohamed Mursi and the widespread jailing of its members, one of its senior figures has said. Mursi was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole last week on charges arising from …
Read More »ISIS and the Principles of War
By Robert N. Hein Ever since the Chinese military philosopher Sun Tzu outlined principles required for the conduct of war in the fifth century B.C., military strategists have opined on what those principles are, and whether currently accepted principles need revision. A strong case exists for the principles …
Read More »Could Air Power Stop Iran?
By James R. Holmes S’pose for the sake of discussion that war constitutes “our best option” in the long-running nuclear standoff with Iran. If so, proponents of military action sound remarkably tepid advocating it. They set expansive goals—terminating or setting back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear-weapons program—yet quail at …
Read More »At Abe-Obama summit, all roads lead to China
By Reiji Yoshida Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarks on a seven-day tour of the United States this week, the highlight of which is a summit with President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday. The meeting has taken on added importance for the two leaders as their countries engage …
Read More »Copycat: Is Germany’s Fearsome Submarine Past China’s Future?
By Lyle J. Goldstein With the centenary of the sinking of the Lusitania at hand, the anniversary of this tragic event has produced a non-fiction best-seller, but little serious reflection among strategists. This is curious given that the submarine has emerged in the early 21st century as the naval weapon …
Read More »Greece: Debt, Defiance and Thucydides
Peter Harris From the National Interest Greece’s domestic turmoil is well documented, but Greek foreign policy over the past three months has been equally fraught with turbulence, frustration and failure. For despite the coming to power of Syriza—a vigorous, outwardly uncompromising and almost revolutionary party of government—the Greek state …
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