Harlan Ullman, Author at Centrul de analiza si studii de securitate

Geopolitics 101—Don’t lose wars!
Geopolitics 101—Don’t lose wars!

America, Blogs, Defense / Homeland Security, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Regions

Geopolitics 101—Don’t lose wars!

Prior to entering national office, politicians of all stripes and especially American presidents-elect and members of Congress should take a short course in Geopolitics 101. That course would have but two warnings: don’t start wars you can’t win and above all don’t lose wars. One would think that is common sense. But it is not. America’s wartime scorecard is not impressive with a singe exception. Along with allies, we won the big one---World War II. Korea was at best a draw. Vietnam, and let’s not forget that was a war of our choice, went to the other side. Grenada did not count. Afghanistan and Iraq have turned out badly so [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:21+02:00February 26th, 2014|America, Blogs, Defense / Homeland Security, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Regions|0 Comments

Geopolitics 101—Don’t re-invent the Russian bear and Chinese dragon
Geopolitics 101—Don’t re-invent the Russian bear and Chinese dragon

America, Blogs, Defense / Homeland Security, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions, Studies and Analysis

Geopolitics 101—Don’t re-invent the Russian bear and Chinese dragon

Last week’s geopolitical guidance to politicians was don’t lose wars. This week’s advice is don’t re-invent Russian bears and Chinese dragons. Portraying Russia and China as potential or peer adversaries and threats goes back to the Soviet Union’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev. “What are you going to do now that you no longer have an enemy?” he asked. In addition to hosting the most expensive Olympic Games in history, Vladimir Putin’s autocratic Russia has announced major increases in defense spending. The Old Soviet Fifth Eskadra that deployed to the Mediterranean during the Cold War was replaced with a new Russian Mediterranean force based in Tartus, Syria. Half a dozen or [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:21+02:00February 26th, 2014|America, Blogs, Defense / Homeland Security, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions, Studies and Analysis|0 Comments

Syria—strategic or tragic?
Syria—strategic or tragic?

Blogs, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Orientul Mijlociu, Regions

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 Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:22+02:00February 17th, 2014|Blogs, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Orientul Mijlociu, Regions|0 Comments

Super Bowl, Super Power?
Super Bowl, Super Power?

America, Blogs, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions

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 Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:22+02:00February 17th, 2014|America, Blogs, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions|0 Comments

Needed: a new NATO for the 21st Century
Needed: a new NATO for the 21st Century

Blogs, Defense / Homeland Security, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues

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 [...]