Iraq, 2003–2011: succeeding to fail

ABSTRACT

This study examines the US experience during the Iraq war, from the planning phase that began in 2001 to the withdrawal of US forces in 2011. It reveals a dearth of planning and intelligence leading up to the invasion; reluctance by conventional coalition military forces to conduct reconstruction, political and security capacity-building; and, later, full spectrum counterinsurgency operations. These forces took on some missions traditionally reserved for special operations forces, and they increasingly assumed diplomatic roles as they interfaced with the Iraqi leadership and local kingpins. Although these efforts yielded some impressive organizational learning and limited operational successes, they were hampered by lack of adequate preparation, a poor understanding of the human terrain, shortsighted strategies, and ultimately a dearth of political will to stay the course. The outcome was far from the model Middle East democracy envisioned by the invasion’s architects, and the American experience in Iraq instead became a cautionary tale for military intervention.     

潮流与风对单点系泊系统运动稳定性的影响研究

应用时域仿真的方法研究了风与潮流作用下单点系泊系统的非线性动力学特性。以三阶操纵运动方程为基础,引入定常的风力、潮流作用力和二阶波浪力,建立了系泊系统三自由度运动微分方程,据此建立了系泊系统的多自由度计算机仿真模型。风与潮流联合作用的情形下,对一艘单点系泊油轮的动力学行为进行了数值仿真研究。以潮流速度和系缆长度为分岔控制参数,在参数平面上给出了油轮系泊运动的Hopf分岔集,它将参数平面分为两个系统动力学行为本质不同的区域。研究表明,与潮流(顶流)单独作用的情形相比,顶风条件增加了油轮静止系泊位置的Liapunov稳定性。     

The Radford Bombshell: Anglo-Australian-US Relations,Nuclear Weapons and the Defence of South East Asia, 1954-57

This article looks at the emergence of nuclear planning assumptions within the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) during the mid-1950s. It does so by examining US strategic concepts for the defence of the treaty area, and the ways these produced major problems for the Australian Government as it switched the emphasis in its defence policy toward a permanent commitment of forces to the South East Asian mainland. At the same time, Britain was struggling to reconcile its membership of SEATO with the need to effect economies in defence spending that would not alarm their Australian Commonwealth partners. As dissatisfaction within SEATO grew, both the US and Britain moved toward a more overt acceptance of nuclear planning assumptions that would reassure their allies without producing a greater call on their resources.     

COIN and civilian collaterals: patterns of violence in Afghanistan, 2004–2009

Theories and counterinsurgency doctrines emphasize the importance of avoiding civilian casualties. Yet, many operations produce large numbers of so-called collateral civilian deaths. I present two competing arguments for when collateral deaths occur. One the one hand, they could be the unintentional result of offensives when trying to maintain force protection; on the other hand, they could be the result of a deliberate choice of relying on indiscriminate violence when pressured on the battlefield. I use new data on violence in Afghanistan 2004–2009, disaggregated by province and month, to examine what type of battlefield dynamics are more likely to produce high levels of collateral civilian casualties. The results show that civilian casualties are particularly high after counterinsurgency forces suffer losses in combat.     

The rising unit cost of defence equipment — The reasons and the results

This paper constructs a conceptual model for the selection of defence equipment providing best value for money. It then shows how the unit cost of the chosen equipment increases between one generation of equipment and its successor because of developments in the perceived threat, the available technology and industrial productivity, and demonstrates that unit cost increases can arise from a logical and rational procurement policy and are not necessarily caused by technological chimeras and military vainglory. The resulting persistent rise in unit cost is unlikely to be significantly slowed by any of the counter‐measures yet proposed.

The paper then discusses the policies which nations have adopted to accommodate past increases in unit cost, and the options which confront any nation at the point when it can no longer afford to re‐equip a particular element of its armed forces.     

对边防部队审计信息化的思考

随着公安边防部队现代化建设尤其是财务电算化的不断发展，对审计工作信息化的要求也日益迫切。边防审计信息化的实现有赖于统一思想，提高认识；有赖于着眼长远；有赖于提升审计队伍科技含量；有赖于规范管理，强化信息化条件下安全工作。     

Orde Wingate, ‘Guerrilla’ Warfare and Long-range Penetration, 1940–44

Major General Orde Wingate was a highly controversial figure in his time and remains so among historians. However, his eccentric and colourful personality has drawn attention away from the nature of his military ideas, the most important of which was his concept of long-range penetration, which originated from his observations of his operations in Italian-occupied Ethiopia in 1941, and evolved into the model he put into practice in the Chindit operations in Burma in 1943–44. A review of Wingate's own official writings on this subject reveals that long-range penetration combined local guerrilla irregulars, purpose-trained regular troops and airpower into large-scale offensive operations deep in the enemy rear, with the intention of disrupting his planning process and creating situations regular forces could exploit. This evolved organically from Major General Colin Gubbins' doctrine for guerrilla resistance in enemy occupied areas, and bears some resemblance to the operational model applied by US and Allied forces, post September 2001.     

The failure of defense planning in European Post-Communist Defense Institutions: ascertaining causation and determining solutions

By any objective measure, defense institutions in Central and Eastern Europe have all but universally been incapable of producing viable defense plans that are based on objective costing and operational planning data. This situation exists in spite the provision of considerable Western advice and assistance, let alone reporting to and receiving assessments by NATO’s International Staff under Partnership for Peace, as well as via the integrated defense planning and reporting systems. An explanation for this systematic failure across European post-Communist defense institutions can be found in the continued slow development of an over-arching policy framework which directs and approves all activities of the armed forces, as well as the de-centralization of financial decision-making down to capability providers. The essay ends with an examination of the adverse effects of the early introduction of planning programming, budgeting system (PPBS), have had on the development of effective policy and planning capabilities within these defense institutions.     

构建我国社会应急救援力量体系的思考

通过对国内、国际应急救援形势、体制、力量体系的研究分析，结合我国各类应急救援队伍现状，提出构建我国社会应急救援力量体系的初步设想，旨在从战略上谋划，依靠现有救援力量，集中财力建设一支常态应急救援主体力量和若干专业力量，形成政府领导、统一指挥、反应快速、处置高效的应急救援格局，以满足应急管理工作的需要。     

改进型概率地图航迹规划方法

针对在线航迹规划对时间和内存要求较高,提出一种基于遗传算法的改进型概率地图算法。该方法引入分层规划的思想,在离线航迹规划时,利用遗传算法找到最优初始航迹并建立航迹走廊,以此来缩小概率地图的规划空间。概率地图方法在缩小后的空间中建立概率地图,自由线路数量大大降低,同时使得在线航迹规划搜索范围减少,时间缩短。仿真实例表明,该方案比传统PRM更能满足在线航迹规划的要求。     

The practice and theory of British counterinsurgency: the histories of the atrocities at the Palestinian villages of al-Bassa and Halhul, 1938–1939

This article details two largely unreported atrocities by British forces operating against Arab rebels during the Arab revolt, 1936–9, at the Palestinian villages of al-Bassa and Halhul. It then examines the military-legal system that underpinned and authorised British military forces operating in aid of the civil power, suggesting that the law in place at the time allowed for a level of reprisals and punitive actions, such as happened at al-Bassa and Halhul. The article does not conclude that the law allowed for atrocities but it does argue that it gave a basic form and understanding to an operational method that was brutal and could lead to atrocities. It thus tests the idea in much of the literature on counterinsurgency that the British were restrained and used minimum force when compared to other colonial and neo-colonial powers fighting insurgents.     

Country survey XVI the defence sector in the economy of a declining superpower: Soviet Union and Russia, 1965-2001

The Soviet Union was able to develop a large military-industrial complex and become the world's second superpower despite deficiencies in its centrally planned economy because defence was given high priority status and special planning, rationing and administrative mechanisms were used to attain national security objectives. However, in the period 1976-85 the effectiveness of priority protection diminished and defence institutions experienced more of the problems typical of the shortage economic system. The heavy defence burden also created growing difficulties for the civilian economy. The attempts by the Gorbachev government to reform the defence sector and improve defence-economic relationships during perestroika (1985-91) uniformly failed. For most of the transition period, the Russian military-industrial complex has been adversely affected by its low priority status, cuts in defence spending, instability of the hybrid politico-economic system, and negative growth of the economy. The armed forces and defence industry have been reduced in size and their outputs of military services and equipment have fallen to low levels. Nevertheless, the Russian armed forces still have over one million troops, significant stocks of sophisticated conventional weapons, and a large nuclear arsenal. The government of President Putin has raised the priority of the defence sector, increased real defence spending, and adopted ambitious plans to revive Russian military power. It is likely, though, that tight resource constraints will hamper efforts to reform the armed forces and to upgrade weapons. By 2010 Russia will be an important, but not dominant, military power in Eurasia.     

空中突击效果预测模型研究

从实践需求出发 ,建立了空中突击效果的预测模型 ,旨在对特定目标在某一时刻遭到突击后 ,预测其在任一后续时间点上所产生的突击效果 ,以便为计划人员有效使用战役突击力量提供可靠保证     

新形势下公安边防部队政治工作定位的思考

改革开放的深入和社会主义市场经济体制的逐步确立,给公安边防部队政治工作带来了一系列新情况、新问题、新挑战,大大加重了政治工作的任务和难度。要积极应对这种挑战,进一步加强部队政治工作,首先应从指导思想上对新形势下公安边防部队政治工作的地位、目标、任务、内容、作用以及方式方法等问题进行全面准确的定位。     

Portfolio analysis for defense: taking account of networking

To manage their assets at an enterprise level, defense organizations have turned to portfolio theory for the planning, analysis and management of their military forces and materiel. Despite being well established in the commercial sector, the application of portfolio approaches in defense is problematic. The vexatious question for defense of how to define and measure benefits arising is complicated by the increased utility and effectiveness achieved through networking of military forces and the equipment they use. The authors discuss the challenges for defense in using a portfolio approach and propose a conceptual model for dealing with the effects arising from networking with information and communications technologies.     

边防毗邻省区跨域协同警务战略研究

在非传统安全威胁不断增多的情况下，公安边防部队维护边疆社会治安和政治大局稳定的职能作用更加凸现。针对公安边防部队点多、线长、面广的特点和毗邻省区结合部管理防范相对薄弱的实际，研究探索新形势下加强毗邻跨域警务协同、联手固边的工作机制，形成无缝链接——“全国边防一盘棋”的整体战略，全面提升公安边防部队战斗力，具有极其重要的现实意义。     

SECURITY SECTOR PLANNING IN AFRICA

The security sector in Africa has often been a threat to citizens instead of being a benefit. Military leaders, feared by politicians for their ability to seize power by force, are often reluctant to be open about problems within the military. The lack of dialogue between politicians, citizens and soldiers has made it difficult for the real problems to be identified or addressed. States need to take stock of their security sector assets, decide how they are to be used and then agree on a clear vision for the future of the military forces within the context of the broader national interest. A defence review, the restructuring of personnel, and a transparent budgeting process can all help to achieve a more motivated and better-equipped force. A properly planned transition from the old system to the new will ensure that only manageable steps are attempted and long-term goals are not sacrificed because of short-term crises.     

基于黑板推理与分层规划的CGF模糊决策模型

计算机生成兵力具有智能行为是其最大的特点,也是当前研究的重点和难点。为了使计算机生成兵力决策的智能化水平有所提高,把复杂的决策过程进行分层规划,将各层中决策子任务的求解策略、推理策略与黑板推理方法中的多任务协同工作原理相结合,构造了基于黑板推理的计算机生成兵力决策模型。同时,也将模糊理论应用到决策模型中。有效地提高了计算机生成兵力的智能水平。     

新时期公安边防部队基层思想政治教育的创新与改进

公安边防部队基层面对新形势、新任务和新要求,必须不断创新和改进思想政治教育的内容、方法和机制,增强思想政治教育的时效性,强化官兵精神支柱,促进部队基层全面建设。