Războiul Rece reinventat! (I)

Este actuala confruntare între Federaţia Rusă şi Occident un nou Război Rece? Ceea ce se întâmplă acum este similar cu ceea ce s-a întâmplat în a doua jumătate a secolului al XX-lea, imediat după Al Doilea Război Mondial. Ce strategii vor alege liderii lumii în soluţionarea acestui conflict? "Există o singură dovadă pe care sovieticii o pot aduce, dincolo de orice îndoială, care ar avansa categoric cauza libertăţii şi a păcii. Domnule secretar general Gorbaciov, dacă doriţi pace, dacă doriţi prosperitate pentru Uniunea Sovietică şi Europa de Est, dacă doriţi cu adevărat liberalizare, veniţi aici, la această poartă! Domnule Gorbaciov, deschideţi această poartă! Domnule Gorbaciov, dărâmaţi acest zid!”, declara Ronald [...]

The New MAD: An era of assured disruption

For much of the cold war, the major strategic and security paradigm between east and west was largely (and misleadingly) defined as an era of mutual assured destruction or MAD. MAD meant both sides could assure the near total destruction and defeat of the other in a nuclear or thermonuclear war.  Today, despite the presence weapons of mass destruction, the era of MAD is over.  But a new strategic mindset is now needed. The demise of the Soviet Union is one reason.  As important is the erosion of the Westphalian system of state-centric politics.  Through a combination of the diffusion of all forms of power and globalization, individuals and small [...]

August: the most dangerous month?

Arguably, August is in the finals as potentially the most dangerous month of the year.  On August 4th a century ago, Britain went to war to honor an 1839 treaty immediately after the Kaiser’s army invaded that Belgium.  Fifty years ago, on the same date in 1964 (following an attack by North Vietnamese torpedo boats on a U.S. Navy destroyer two days before), a second incident occurred in the Tonkin Gulf.  Two Navy destroyers radioed that both were under torpedo attack.  No such attack took place.  But the incident was enough for the U.S. Congress to pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution that began a decade of war in Vietnam, the [...]

Peace, prosperity and stability through partnerships: a grand design for a 21st century strategic mindset

Most American presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush, have been accused of and attacked for having the wrong strategy.  Of post-World War II presidents, Barack Obama has perhaps been most assailed for having no strategy.  His seeming reluctance to take a stand and stand up for it under pressure has likewise drawn harsh criticism. Leading from behind in Libya; demanding that Syrian President Bashar al Assad leave office; and drawing “red lines” to deter Assad’s use of chemical weapons are evidence used in the court of public opinion to prove presidential lack of spine.  But the world is a complicated and violent place.  Washington, Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt [...]

The X-GEN men at 1600 and number 10

Both U.S. President Barack Obama and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron have a great deal in common.  They come from the same generation born in 1961 and 1966 respectively.  They both shared the best education available.    Obama attended the elite Punaho Private School in Honolulu, receiving his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and an LL.D. from Harvard Law School. Cameron attended Eton College and from there went on to Brasenose College at Oxford University.   They both grew up in largely political jobs with little private sector experience.  Obama was a “community organizer” in Chicago before gaining his law degree and working for a law office.  While teaching constitutional [...]

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