A Question of ‘Government’ Control: Afghanistan DDR Programs Since 2001

Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA), the United States, the United Nations, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have funded and led three different Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs. Despite a significant investment in time and treasure, all of them have failed to significantly reduce the number of insurgents or arbaki (militia). This article explores why these programs failed despite incorporating ideas from the prominent DDR schools of thought. Utilizing Stathis Kalyvas’ theory of The Logic of Violence in Civil War as a lens, this article argues that GIRoA and ISAF did not have sufficient control of territory to entice insurgents or arbaki to reconcile and/or reintegrate with the government. Further, in areas GIRoA nominally controlled in northern and western Afghanistan, regional powerbrokers who controlled these areas balked at these programs.     

Bringing Military Conduct out of the Shadow of Law: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Rules of Engagement

In this article, I outline a holistic approach to the military concept of “Rules of Engagement” (ROE), which complements the legal aspects of ROE with considerations of operational and political requirements for the use of military force. Drawing upon two illustrative cases from the US military experience with the use of ROE, I demonstrate that ROE for any particular military operation should be formulated to balance optimally, if not harmonize fully, the legal, operational and political concerns related to the use of force. In this task, political decision-makers and military practitioners alike are confronted with unavoidable and real-life dilemmas. How these dilemmas are handled has significant implications for how legal requirements concerning accountability and concerns for civilian lives in military combat can be preserved through ROE.     

The fateful phoenix: the revival of Al-Qa’ida in Iraq

Although the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is seen as a novel manifestation of Islamic extremism, it is in fact the latest, albeit perhaps the most effective, of a long line of revivalist movements in the Islamic and the Arab worlds. Its motivations – hisba and jihad – differ little from its predecessors and its ambitions – to create a state organised in accordance with the precepts of the Islamic caliphate – reflect a long-standing Islamic ambition. It differs, of course, in terms of the sophistication of its political and military strategies, which mirror the contemporary complexities of the world in which it operates, but its objectives recall long-standing Islamic ideals, even if articulated in radically brutal and extremist ways. More importantly, perhaps, ISIS or Da’ish, to give it its Arabic sobriquet, reflects the enormous degree of resentment inside the Middle East at the ways in which Western powers have intervened in regional affairs over recent years, particularly their support for regimes and economic systems there that have betrayed, in the popular imaginary, the essential principles of social justice that lie at the root of Islamic vision of ideal social order. Indeed, in many respects, its analysis of the world in which it operates and of the objectives it seeks differ little in essence from those any other resistance and rejectionist movement, whether religious or sectarian. More specifically, it has been the sectarian conflict that resulted from the reversal of political order in Iraq as a result of the 2003 American-led invasion that has driven the success of the movement in capturing widespread Sunni support. Whether it can manage the complexities of the administration of a state remains open to question.     

Merely ‘Docile Self-Deception’? German Experiences with Nuclear Consultation in NATO

ABSTRACT

Recent nuclear-weapons-related consultation in NATO within the framework of the Defence and Deterrence Posture Review sheds light on historical experiences with nuclear consultation in NATO. In the early years of the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG), which became the main forum for multilateral nuclear consultation in the alliance, developing a nuclear weapons first use doctrine was of particular importance. This process led to the adoption of the Provisional Political Guidelines (PPGs) on the threat to initiate the use of nuclear weapons. With a focus on West Germany as the primary addressee of the NPG, it will be postulated that nuclear consultation functioned and may still be seen as an essential tool to manage the credibility of US extended nuclear deterrence in the framework of NATO.     

指控系统信息服务质量评价研究

为了有效评价指控系统信息服务质量情况,在深入分析指控系统信息服务特征及用户服务要求的基础上,研究了评价指标的析取原则,从主观和客观两个方面提出了指控系统信息服务质量评价的指标体系,对各维度及评价指标的含义、测量方法进行了详细讨论,并给出了定性评价、定量评价和半定量评价3种指标评价方法和加权综合评价方法。     

基于Node.js,Sencha Touch和iBeacon信息推送系统的设计与实现

为了解决利用二维码技术实现的传统信息推送系统操作流程复杂,用户体验不佳,智能化不足的问题,提出了一种基于i Beacon定位技术和云架构的整体设计方案。依托于云架构,利用web服务器Node.js和No SQL数据库Mongo DB进行相关数据的处理、存储,利用基于i Beacon的定位技术实现位置检测,前端采用HTML5框架Sencha Touch并结合Objective-C以hybrid app的形式实现信息展示。详细阐述了系统的架构、功能和设计方案,为建设新型细信息推送系统提供了新的思路与方向。     

基于粒子滤波的目标跟踪抗野值算法

运用粒子滤波对目标位置进行跟踪时,测量数据的异常突变点、目标的机动转弯、粒子数量的制约和重要性密度函数的优劣都会导致估计误差较大的野值出现,这将严重影响雷达对目标的跟踪精度。现有的野值剔除方法在目标发生机动时,都存在误剔率较高的问题。针对这个问题,采用莱特准则与机动门限准则相结合的方法,提出了不确定观测点的概念,设计了一种适用于机动目标的抗野值粒子滤波算法。仿真结果表明,该方法能较好地检测和更新野值,降低跟踪误差,提高跟踪精度。     

基于DDS的虚拟信号发生器LabVIEW程序设计

针对传统信号发生器存在的成本高、功能单一、电子线路复杂等缺点,设计了一种基于频率合成技术的虚拟任意信号发生器。通过动态链接库(DLL)与下位机设备DDS-3X25进行通信,基于"模块化"和事件结构的设计思想,用LabVIEW编程实现了基本波形、任意波形、噪声叠加、波形数据载入、波形数据量化转换和线性插值等程序模块。实验结果表明,该设计不仅能产生纯净和叠加噪声的正弦波、方波、三角波和锯齿波等基本波形,而且可以输出手绘的任意波形,验证了设计的有效性。     

磁探针位置及角度偏移对电磁发射过程测试的影响

简化电磁发射装置中的导轨和电枢为线电流下的直导体,建立发射装置的物理模型。利用毕奥-萨伐尔定律和感应电动势原理,推导出磁探针线圈中心放置点的磁感强度。假设线圈范围内的磁场为均匀磁场,计算得到磁探针线圈产生的电动势。以此设计测量所用的磁探针,并和测试数据对比验证模型的正确性。在多次试验中发现,发射过程中装置振动导致磁探针距离变化和角度偏转问题。测量并分析三组单次发射中的故障测试状态。仿真和实验数据表明:小范围距离变化没有使磁探针的测试性能失效,但角度偏移对下一步的速度拟合带来误差干扰,且随着角度增大拟合速度逐步减小。     

基于AdaBoost-SVM的P2P流量识别方法

针对传统的P2P流量识别技术存在识别率低和误判率高的缺点,将机器学习中Ada Boost算法的良好分类能力和SVM的泛化能力结合起来,提出一种基于Ada Boost-SVM组合算法的P2P网络流量识别模型,将SVM作为Ada Boost的基分类器,运用最小近邻法计算支持向量与训练集的样本间的距离实现分类进行P2P流量识别。最后,以4种P2P流量数据为研究对象在MATLAB上进行仿真,仿真结果表明,提出的Ada Boost-SVM的组合算法在P2P网络流量的分类性能和分类准确率上都优于单纯的Ada Boost和SVM,组合算法的P2P流量平均识别率高达98.7%,远高于Ada Boost和SVM的识别率。