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201. Legacy Agenda: The Future of the Bush Doctrine, Part I

Author:
Thomas Donnelly
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
With the recent announcements of a new strategy for Iraq and a commitment to begin increasing the size of U.S. land forces, the White House has taken two important steps to ensure that the tenets of the Bush Doctrine endure beyond the end of President George W. Bush's administration. Since 9/11 and indeed since the beginning of this administration, strategy has been made by an odd combination of ad hoc improvisation and expansive rhetoric. The day-to-day business of fitting means to ends and filling in the policy blanks has either been delegated to subordinates, left to the bureaucracy, or put in the “too hard” box. As time grows short, Bush needs to attend closely to three further matters. The first is as obvious and pressing as Iraq and an important factor in the need to rebuild land forces, especially the Army: a surge in U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. The second and third factors are less frequently discussed but essential for the long-term viability of the Bush Doctrine and the continuity of the Pax Americana: articulate a strategy for the “long war” in the greater Middle East and devise a genuinely global response to the rise of China. This issue of National Security Outlook begins a series devoted to these three measures of the enduring meaning of the Bush Doctrine.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and National Security
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, China, Iraq, America, and Asia

202. Rethinking Insurgency

Author:
Steven Metz
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The September 11, 2001, attacks and Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM revived the idea that insurgency is a significant threat to the United States. In response, the American military and defense communities began to rethink insurgency. Much of this valuable work, though, viewed contemporary insurgency as more closely related to Cold War era insurgencies than to the complex conflicts which characterized the post-Cold War period. This suggests that the most basic way that the military and defense communities think about insurgency must be rethought.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, National Security, and Terrorism

203. Effective Counterterrorism and the Limited Role of Predictive Data Mining

Author:
Jim Harper and Jeff Jonas
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, spurred extraordinary efforts intended to protect America from the newly highlighted scourge of international terrorism. Among the efforts was the consideration and possible use of “data mining” as a way to discover planning and preparation for terrorism. Data mining is the process of searching data for previously unknown patterns and using those patterns to predict future outcomes.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, International Relations, National Security, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
America

204. A Conversation with Henry Kissinger

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Henry Kissinger was US Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. He served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from 1969 to 1975. In July 1983 he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985, and from 1984-1990 he served as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. From 1986-1988 he was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department. Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973; the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation's highest civilian award) in 1977; and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders) in 1986. Dr. Kissinger was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1938 and was naturalized a US citizen in 1943. He served in the army from 1943 to 1946. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954. At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. This interview with AsiaSource was conducted by Nermeen Shaikh prior to the Asia Society 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner of which Dr. Kissinger was an honorary chairman.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and National Security
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Central America

205. Twelver Sh'ite Islam: Conceptual and Practical Aspects

Author:
Christoph Marcinkowski
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Recent political events surrounding the Iranian “nuclear crisis”, as well as the still unsettled fate of Iraq have resulted in a renewed interest in the Shi'ite dimension of Islam among political observers. This paper attempts to present an outline of some of the “essential features” of Twelver Shi'ite Islam as it distinguishes itself today from majority Sunnism. In particular, the different approaches of Sunnite and Shi'ite Muslims towards the issue of religious and political authority - resulting in history often in violent clashes - have been highlighted. Moreover, throughout their history, Shi'ites had put high emphasis on intellectual pursuit and reasoning, on philosophy and science. Although the paper focuses of the “Twelver Shi'ites” (today numerically and politically the strongest Shi'ite group), the today rather un-political Isma'ilis or “Sevener” Shi'ites, too, shall be referred to briefly, as they have also some pockets in Singapore among the Indian Muslim community. Of special interest to the political observer of contemporary Islam shall be the status of Shi'ite clerics (Arab. 'ulama') vis-à-vis their Sunnite colleagues.
Topic:
International Relations, National Security, and Religion
Political Geography:
Iraq

206. Rewriting Indonesian History, The Future in Indonesia's Past

Author:
Kwa Chong Guan
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
“Indonesians have in the midst of all their political crises since 1945 explicitly looked back into their past for rationalizations of their present and more critically, redefine a “golden era” from which they can chart anew paths into their future. This paper examines the different challenges to the New Order version of Indonesian history and rewriting of that history for Indonesia's future. Specifically, the paper looks at the rewriting of Indonesian history (1) for the restructuring of the state and its Constitution for a more egalitarian and democratic future, (3) that reviews the swing of the pendulum in Jakarta's control of the provinces and justifies the devolution of power and decentralization of administration to the provinces, (2) which reviews the contribution of the Indonesian Armed Forces to the making of Indonesia's past and justification of its future role, (3) that acknowledges a greater role for Islam in Indonesia's past and its future.”
Topic:
International Relations and National Security
Political Geography:
Asia

207. Freedom and Control Networks in Military Environments

Author:
Paul T. Mitchell
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Militaries around the world are pursuing the idea of Network Centric Warfare as the fundamental basis for how they will conduct operations in the future. NCW suggests that "a robustly networked force improves information sharing and collaboration, which enhances the quality of information and shared situational awareness. This enables further collaboration and self-synchronization and improves sustainability and speed of command, which ultimately result in dramatically increased mission effectiveness." In many respects, NCW seeks to develop military power in the same way that the Internet has enhanced both business and individual knowledge.
Topic:
International Relations, Defense Policy, and National Security

208. Iraq Has Voted

Author:
Michael Rubin
Publication Date:
02-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Millions of Iraqis went to the polls on January 30 and demonstrated, under extreme duress, that they are prepared for freedom and for the responsibility of transforming their nation from tyranny to democracy.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, Economics, and National Security
Political Geography:
Iraq

209. Beyond the Notion of Security Community: What Role for the African Regional Organizations in Peace and Security?

Author:
Liisa Laakso
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
African regional organizations' increasing activity in security policy is usually approached through the concept of a 'security community', which can only partially clarify their difficult situation. A multilevel governance model is suggested as a more useful approach in a situation where economic cooperation is weak, member states' principles of governance diverge, and they themselves might be part of security problems. Security community is not a necessary condition for a regional organization to play a role in the field of security. By new intra-regional and cross-level relationships with the international community and civil society, regional organizations can become important security actors in Africa.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, National Security, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa

210. (Re)Writing the "National Security State"

Author:
David Grondin
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Raoul Dandurand Chair of Strategic and Diplomatic Studies, Université du Québec à Montréal
Abstract:
Hans Morgenthau once said that “the intellectual lives in a world that is both separate from and potentially intertwined with that of the politician. The two worlds are separate because they are oriented towards different ultimate values… truth threatens power, and power threatens truth” (Morgenthau, quoted in Hill and Beshoff, 1994: xi). For Christopher Hill and Pamela Beshoff, this means that, as international relations practitioners and theorists, “Like it or not, we are 'intellectuals in politics' and 'the study of international relations is not an innocent profession'”
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Diplomacy, and National Security