Syria–strategic or tragic?

Last week, the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. hosted a session on Syria and the Middle East.  The speakers largely agreed that more active engagement by the Obama administration from increasing humanitarian assistance to arming the opposition was needed and needed now.  The argument was based on the civil war spilling over and destabilizing the region with many foreign fighters trained in Syria finding their way back to the West.  One participant proposed waging a “Charlie Wilson” type of guerilla action with the Syrian Free Army cutting the government’s supply lines and attacking its air bases as a means of forcing the Assad regime to negotiate or to leave office [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:22+02:0017 februarie 2014|Blog, Harlan Ullman, Orientul Mijlociu, Pace & Securitate, Regiuni, Subiecte|0 Comentarii
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Super Bowl, Super Power?

Last Sunday’s Super Bowl was the culmination of America’s National Football League’s sixteen game season and the playoffs that followed to determine who would win the sport’s ultimate prize---the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  One of the world’s most widely watched annual television events, the Super Bowl was very disappointing to those fans wishing to see a game won or lost in the last seconds.  From the opening kickoff, the Seattle Seahawks demolished the Denver Broncos delivering a 43-8 beating, one of the worst in Super Bowl history.   Seattle’s defense, the best in the league, throttled Denver’s offense, also the best in football.  The game was lopsided: despair for the losers [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:22+02:0017 februarie 2014|America, Blog, Guvernare globala, Harlan Ullman, Regiuni, Subiecte|0 Comentarii
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Needed: a new NATO for the 21st Century

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the annual Munich Security Conference.  First focused on Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Cold War, several years ago the conference broadened its agenda to cover global security. That said, the future of NATO must remain among the West’s highest security priorities.  For a number of reasons, that is not happening.   The dissolution of the Soviet Union a quarter of a century ago removed the threat for which NATO was uniquely created. The alliance manfully began the transformation to a post-Cold War world.  Since major threats now lay beyond NATO’s borders, the alliance expanded its reach.  “Out of area [...]

By |2014-02-17T19:50:49+02:002 februarie 2014|Apărare / Securitate Naţională, Blog, Harlan Ullman, Pace & Securitate, Subiecte|0 Comentarii
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Bob Gates’ DUTY

Last week’s release of Bob Gates’ Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War was preceded by his publisher’s brilliant public relations campaign hyping the book with tantalizingly provocative excerpts.  The brouhaha over the propriety of the timing of the book’s release while Gates’ boss, President Barack Obama, was still in office and the dramatic excerpts especially the criticism of Vice President Joe Biden filled the talk shows.  And, now, all that has sunk without trace.   A few reactions are in order before getting into the most telling and largely unmentioned aspects of Gates’ blockbuster---but a blockbuster for other reasons.  First, too many of the pundits pontificated without reading the [...]

By |2018-02-08T18:43:38+02:0027 ianuarie 2014|America, Blog, Carti, Harlan Ullman, Publicatii, Regiuni|0 Comentarii
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The nuclear deal with Iran and the law of unintended consequences

The Thanksgiving holiday and the consumer shopping frenzy over “Black Friday” last week temporarily captured America headlines obscuring for a brief spell, the nuclear deal that, if consummated, will assure Iran will not develop nuclear weapons.  But make no mistake. Debate over the agreement signed by the P-5 Plus One, the European Union and Iran will fill tons of newsprint and hours of television airtime over the next six months as debate rages over the virtues and vices of this deal.  Yet, almost certain to be lacking is thoughtful consideration of unintended consequences that may arise whether the agreement succeeds or sinks and how to respond regardless of the outcome. [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:29+02:006 decembrie 2013|Blog, Harlan Ullman, Orientul Mijlociu, Regiuni|0 Comentarii
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