SHADOW WARS

The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World's Most Dangerous Terrorist Power, by Ronen Bergman. Free Press, 2008. 432 pages, $28

Fallout: The True Story of the CIA's Secret War on Nuclear Trafficking, by Catherine Collins and Douglas Frantz. Free Press, 2011. 304 pages, $26.

The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year War with Iran, by David Crist. Penguin Press, 2012. 638 pages, $36.

Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War, by Yaakov Katz and Yoaz Hendel. Potomac Books Inc., 2012. 254 pages, $30.

Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars, by Dan Raviv. Levant, 2012. 356 pages, $17.

Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power, by David E. Sanger. Crown Publishers, 2012. 476 pages, $28.     

Linking a throughput simulation to a systems dynamics simulation to assess the utility of a US Navy foreign humanitarian aid mission

The success of any humanitarian aid mission is generally measured by the timeliness of critical supplies that are delivered to the affected area. However, a more interesting analysis may be to determine the effect of the aid on the overall satisfaction of the local population. The authors' research focused on the delivery of humanitarian aid to a notional region that was decimated by flooding with ships, landing craft and security personnel provided by the US Navy and Marines. While the research effort addressed naval force structure, the focus of the research was: (1) to assess different delivery methods for the aid; and (2) to determine how the aid delivery impacted the overall satisfaction of the local population. To examine both concerns, two simulation models were developed, with one examining the throughput of aid delivered during the operation, and the other the satisfaction of the population based on the humanitarian aid effort.     

Impact of tax reduction policies on consumer purchase of new automobiles: An analytical investigation with real data‐based experiments

We investigate and compare the impact of the tax reduction policies implemented in the United States and China to stimulate consumer purchase of new automobiles and improve manufacturers' profits. The U.S. policy provides each qualifying consumer with a federal income tax deduction on state and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase price (up to a cutoff level), whereas the Chinese policy reduces the vehicle sales tax rate for consumers. We observe that these policy designs are consistent with the tax management system and the economic environment in the respective country. We analytically determine the effects of the two tax reduction policies on the automobile sales and the manufacturer's and the retailer's profits. Numerical examples are then used to provide insights on the importance of certain factors that influence the effects of the two policies. Finally, a numerical experiment with sensitivity analysis based on real data is conducted to compare the merits and characteristics of the two policies under comparable conditions. We find that the U.S. policy is better than the Chinese policy in stimulating the sales of high‐end automobiles, whereas the Chinese policy is better than the U.S. policy in improving the sales of low‐end automobiles. The U.S. policy is slightly more effective in increasing the profitability of the automobile supply chain; but, in general, the Chinese policy is more cost effective. The methodology developed herein can be used to evaluate other tax reduction policies such as those related to the purchase of energy‐saving vehicles and to serve as a decision model to guide the choice of alternative tax reduction policies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 61: 577–598, 2014     

Introduction: Exploring the jungle of terminology

When twentieth-century authors wrote about ‘partisan warfare’, they usually meant an insurgency or asymmetric military operations conducted against a superior force by small bands of ideologically driven irregular fighters. By contrast, originally (i.e. before the French Revolution) ‘partisan’ in French, English, and German referred only to the leader of a detachment of special forces (party, partie, Parthey, détachement) which the major European powers used to conduct special operations alongside their regular forces. Such special operations were the classic definition of ‘small war’ (petite guerre) in the late seventeenth and in the eighteenth centuries. The Spanish word ‘la guerrilla’, meaning nothing other than ‘small war’, only acquired an association with rebellion with the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon. Even after this, however, armies throughout the world have continued to employ special forces. In the late nineteenth century, their operations have still been referred to as prosecuting ‘la guerrilla’ or ‘small war’, which existed side by side with, and was often mixed with, ‘people's war’ or popular uprisings against hated regimes.     

基于结构方程模型的作战能力评估方法

由于作战能力指标获取困难,当前的作战能力评估方法更多依赖专家知识,构建的模型往往缺乏足够的说服力。因此,在分析作战效能与作战能力关系的基础上,结合结构方程模型,提出一种从作战效能指标出发,评估作战能力的方法,并以某次反潜作战为背景,进行了实例分析。     

武器装备发展战略研究中的体系能力评估分析

随着武器装备发展战略研究的科学化决策需求越来越高,对体系能力评估的要求也变得愈发迫切,但这也是目前的一个技术难点。首先分析了发展战略研究中,可能遇到的体系能力评估问题种类及其特点。然后,针对每类问题,重点分析了各自的要求,给出了在评估分析建模方法选择上的建议。     

数字化机步师指挥信息系统作战运用能力需求研究

借鉴体系结构能力视角需求分析方法,根据数字化机步师指挥信息系统支撑能力的内涵,设计了6种新的能力视角模型,通过深入分析能力构想、能力结构、能力关系,以及5种体系级能力与系统组成、作战指挥活动、作战信息流程之间的映射关系,理清了指挥信息系统作战运用的能力需求。分析结果可为数字化机步师指挥信息系统的编配、运用与评估提供科学依据和理论指导。     

基于海军武器装备体系结构视图的能力评估研究

文章探讨了基于海军武器装备体系结构视图的能力评估框架,形成了海军武器装备体系结构视图产品与能力评估的映射关系。首先概述了海军武器装备体系能力及其视图的概念及内涵,然后分析了能力视图与其它视图间的映射关系,构建了由六个能力视图产品为主组成的海军武器装备体系能力视图体系,最后提出一个基于海军武器装备体系结构视图的体系能力评价框架,为海军武器装备体系能力评估的建模方法研究提供了技术基础。     

使命任务拓展后海军武器装备体系能力框架构建

新时期海军使命任务拓展对海军装备体系建设提出新的需求,需要突出能力在需求分析中的纽带作用。本文针对海军武器装备体系能力框架的概念和研究原则进行简要分析,对能力框架构成进行详细讨论。试用情况说明,以能力框架支撑装备体系规划发展,可更好地涵盖兵力战争运用和非战争运用,综合应对确定和不确定威胁。     

基于集对-层次分析法的合成部队作战能力分析

为科学评估合成部队战斗力水平,在准确量化作战行动的基础上,设计定义了39个作战能力最小数据集,抽象出快速反应、情报侦察、指挥控制等11种专题作战能力评价体系。以该标准采集的数据为样本, 运用集对-层次分析法实现了合成部队作战能力的综合评估。最后以火力打击能力评估模型为例,验证了该方法的有效性实用性。