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4041. The Defense Monitor: Nuclear Time Warp

Author:
Dr. Bruce G. Blair
Publication Date:
05-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
President george W. Bush's new Nuclear Posture Review harks back to the stone age, or at least to the 1950s, when America's most beautiful minds struggled to devise a strategy to deal with the original rogue state — the Soviet Union. The latest exercise to devise a nuclear strategy to neutralize threats of weapons of mass destruction wielded by the 2002-class of rogue states such as Iraq and North Korea is proof that time folds over on itself, and that higher-order nuclear intelligence is as elusive as table-top fusion. This repetition of history isn't funny, but it is dangerous.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Iraq and North Korea

4042. The Defense Monitor: Exploring the Axis of Evil — Introduction

Author:
Dan Smith
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
IN HIS JAN. 29, 2002 State of the Union Address to Congress and the American public, U.S. President George W. Bush described a tripartite “axis of evil” threatening the United States.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States

4043. The Defense Monitor: Gens. McCaffrey and Wilhelm Visit Cuba with CDI Group

Author:
Glenn Baker
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
A Cdi Delegation Traveled to Cuba Feb. 27-March 3 and met top Cuban officials, including Fidel Castro, to explore the possibility of closer cooperation between the United States and Cuba in the fight against drugs and terrorism. CDI President Bruce Blair led a group that included Gen. (Ret.) Barry McCaffrey, Gen. (Ret.) Charles Wilhelm, and members of the CDI board and staff. McCaffrey was “drug czar” under President Clinton; Wilhelm was commander in chief of Southern Command from 1997-2000, and now serves as a Distinguished Military Fellow with CDI. He also went to Cuba with a CDI delegation in February 2001.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States

4044. The Defense Monitor: The Pentagon's Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Request: More of Everything

Author:
Christopher Hellman
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
On feb. 4, the administration of President George W. Bush released its proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2003 (FY'03). It includes a $396.1 billion request for national security: a whopping $379.3 billion for the Defense Department and $16.8 billion for the nuclear weapons functions of the Department of Energy. This is $48 billion above current annual spending levels, an increase of 13 percent. It is also 15 percent above the Cold War average, to fund a military force structure that is one-third smaller than it was a decade ago.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

4045. The Defense Monitor: The World At War — January 2002

Author:
Daniel Smith
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
Sept. 11 did not presage or begin a new war. For more than 30 years, the modern world has confronted terrorism in the form of plane hijackings, massacres of travelers and athletes, and assassinations of politicians and military and business people. During the same 30 years, untold numbers of civilians in countries all over the world have been wounded, maimed, and killed as groups vying for personal and political power have battled each other, sometimes with the backing or even direct intervention of neighboring states.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

4046. Communicating Nuclear Risk: Informing the Public about the Risks and Realities of Nuclear Terrorism

Author:
Tonya L. Putnam
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International Security and Cooperation
Abstract:
Achieving adequate preparedness for a terrorist attack against the United States involving a nuclear or radiological weapon is simultaneously a technical problem, a public-policy challenge, and a public-education mission. Response to terrorist attacks differs in important ways from response to more familiar nuclear emergencies arising from reactor accidents, and also from response to conventional and chemical and biological terrorist attacks. The complications of risk communication in the realm of nuclear terrorism include overcoming misinformation about the nature of the threats posed by terrorist attacks involving nuclear and radiological weapons as well as mistrust of experts, the government, and the media.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, Nuclear Weapons, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

4047. People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF): Shifting Airpower Balance and Challenges to India's Security

Author:
Ramesh V. Phadke
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International Security and Cooperation
Abstract:
China is India's largest and most important neighbor, and despite recent efforts at improving relations between the two countries, the over half-century-old border dispute remains unresolved. China is an expansionist power trying to enhance the security of its peripheral areas. It is important to note that in the recent past, China has resolved its border disputes with almost all its neighbors except India. Relations between the two countries have no doubt improved since 1988, when then-Indian prime minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi, visited Beijing, and since the conclusion of 1993 and 1996 agreements on maintenance of peace and tranquility on the borders, but the progress so far has been slow. China continues to claim some 90,000 square kilometers of Indian territory in the northeast while it illegally occupies some 23,000 square kilometers of Aksai Chin in the north of India.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Religion
Political Geography:
China, South Asia, and India

4048. An Indian Assault on Terrorism – The Military Option

Author:
Jon P. Dorschner
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
Abstract:
India has long endured terrorist attacks against its security forces and civilians, both in Indian Kashmir and in India proper, which it alleges are directed and financed by Pakistan. On Dec ember 13, a terrorist attack against the Indian parliament building in New Delhi appeared aimed at killing Indian members of parliament. India interpreted this as an “act of war,” mobilized its troops and threatened military action. This paper examines the options available to the Indian military, and determines that none of them are very attractive and are unlikely to cause serious damage to the terrorist infrastructure located in Pakistan controlled Kashmir, or in Pakistan proper.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, India, and Kashmir

4049. Assessing the Risks of Cyber Terrorism, Cyber War and Other Cyber Threats

Author:
James A. Lewis
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Cyber-warfare conjures up images of information warriors unleashing vicious attacks against an unsuspecting opponent's computer networks, wreaking havoc and paralyzing nations. This a frightening scenario, but how likely is it to occur? What would the effects of a cyber attack be on a potential opponent? Cyber attacks, network security and information pose complex problems that reach into new areas for national security and public policy. This paper looks at one set of issues – those related to cyber-terrorism and cyber attacks on critical infrastructure and their implications for national security. Cyber-terrorism is “the use of computer network tools to shut down critical national infrastructures (such as energy, transportation, government operations) or to coerce or intimidate a government or civilian population.” The premise of cyber terrorism is that as nations and critical infrastructure became more dependent on computer networks for their operation, new vulnerabilities are created – “a massive electronic Achilles' heel.” A hostile nation or group could exploit these vulnerabilities to penetrate a poorly secured computer network and disrupt or even shut down critical functions.
Topic:
Security, Science and Technology, and Terrorism

4050. Strengthening Law Enforcement Capabilities to Combat Terrorism

Author:
James A. Lewis
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Ten days after the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller toured the smoldering rubble where the Twin Towers once had stood. “It's unspeakable,” the Attorney General kept repeating as he took in the horrible scene. Mueller walked with New York Governor George Pataki. “We'll get them,” he said.
Topic:
Security, Science and Technology, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
New York and Washington