Don't stop with Joint Forces Command … cut AFRICOM too

Abstract

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has been a military success but a strategic messaging failure. The United States’ relationships across Africa cannot be boiled down to military affairs. This paper argues that Africa has many more opportunities than challenges and thus requires a more balanced foreign policy solution from Washington DC than a new military command. For the military engagement that does need to take place, a more low-profile approach would benefit the United States in Africa.     

UNDERSTANDING CHINA'S ANTISATELLITE TEST

In discussing China's January 2007 hit-to-kill intercept of the Chinese weather satellite FengYun-1C, most American analysts sought the “message” for the United States—either by asserting that China's test was a deliberate step toward a comprehensive counterspace capability to offset U.S. conventional military superiority or an attempt to force the United States to the negotiating table on “the prevention of an arms race in outer space.” Chinese officials, after a long silence, eventually claimed the test was an “experiment” that was “not targeted at any country.” We traveled to China several times in 2007 and had a series of conversations with Chinese individuals knowledgeable about the history of this particular antisatellite program and with access to information about the decision-making process prior to and after the final test. These discussions were off the record, not for attribution, given the sensitivity of the subject. They reflected the views of some of the key institutions involved in the test from the State, the Communist Party, the People's Liberation Army, and aerospace experts involved in debris calculations. The information conveyed to us suggests that American commentators tend to place much greater importance on the United States as a driver in China's decision to develop the technology and conduct the test than do the Chinese.     

ALBANIA'S CHEMICAL WEAPONS CON

In 2003, the Albanian government declared that in late 2002 it had discovered a heretofore unknown cache of 16 tons of chemical weapons. Tirana requested and received assistance from the West in securing and destroying the materials, a task completed in 2007. Albania has been lauded for its responsible handling of the discovery and for being the first nation to complete the destruction of its chemical weapons under the terms of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This article argues that the Albanian government has always knowingly possessed the weapons, keeping them a secret until a post-September 11, 2001 international focus on weapons of mass destruction made it politically worthwhile for Tirana to declare and destroy them. The likelihood that the governments of the West turned a willful blind eye to this chain of events is troubling for the credibility of the CWC and confidence in nonproliferation measures in general. Finally, the author recommends measures to avoid and address similar situations in the future.     

Increased Chinese and American defence involvement in Africa

There is often a perception put forth of a fight for supremacy between China and the USA. This is often the case when discussing the continent of Africa. Both countries have recently increased their involvement in Africa for a variety of reasons. In 2011, China surpassed the USA as Africa's largest trading partner, with Africa predicted to be Beijing's largest trading partner by 2017. As expected, their bilateral and multilateral defence cooperation with strategic countries and organisations has matured and expanded along with it. Washington's own economic interests, al-Qa'ida and threats to maritime security are some of the crucial elements behind the US's presence on the continent. This article analyses both the USA and China's rising defence involvement in Africa. It compares and contrasts their similarities and differences, and argues that cooperation in certain areas can prove beneficial for all parties involved.     

WARFARE IN A NEW DOMAIN: THE ETHICS OF MILITARY CYBER-OPERATIONS

While most normative evaluations of military cyber-operations have emerged from the legal community, this article assesses the legitimacy of such operations from a philosophical-ethical perspective. After reviewing the relationship between rights forfeiture and the jus ad bellum and jus in bello criteria of the just war tradition, it applies these criteria to several aspects of cyber-operations, including responses to cyber-activities, the use of cyber-capabilities affecting combatants and civilians, and the use of these capabilities by contractors. Finally, it briefly addresses the legitimacy of limiting rights to privacy and anonymity in service of preventing cyber-harm.     

并行规约与扫描原语在ReRAM架构上的性能优化

规约与扫描是并行计算中的核心原语,其并行加速至关重要。然而,冯·诺依曼体系结构下无法避免的数据移动使其面临“存储墙”等性能与功耗瓶颈。近来,基于ReRAM等非易失存储器的存算一体架构支持的原位计算可一步实现矩阵-向量乘,已在机器学习与图计算等应用中展现了巨大的潜力。提出面向忆阻器存算一体架构的规约与扫描的并行加速方法,重点阐述基于矩阵-向量乘运算的计算流程和在忆阻器架构上的映射方法,实现软硬件协同设计,降低功耗并提高性能。相比于GPU,所提规约与扫描原语可实现高达两个数量级的加速,平均加速比也可达到两个数量级。分段规约与扫描最大可达到五个(平均四个)数量级的加速,并将功耗降低79%。     

全面深化改革要把握好“胆子要大与步子要稳”的辩证关系

“胆子要大与步子要稳”,是习总书记论述全面深化改革要处理好的五对重要关系的其中一个。胆子要大,步子要稳,是过去改革开放实践的成功经验,是当前全面深化改革的科学指南,也是深化国防和军队改革的原则要求。推进全面深化改革,必须把握好“胆子要大与步子要稳”的辩证关系。     

关于马克思主义认识论问题的教学思考

马克思主义认为认识论是一个复杂的认知体系。在这其中认识的主体、客体以及认识中介等因素都发挥着极为重要的作用,忽视任何一个因素都会违背马克思主义认识论的基本原则。教科书体系中的认识论问题,是建立在一种前康德的存在论基础上的,它没有经过康德的认识论转折,有着明显的主体性倾向和机械论色彩,这极其不利于学生形成正确的认识观。     

新疆地方教材中公民教育的价值取向分析

公民教育目前已经成为我国理论与实践关注的重要领域。《新疆》作为新疆维吾尔自治区义务教育阶段的地方教材,在了解新疆历史、地理和各民族发展等区情方面发挥了积极的作用。地方教材是否具备公民教育理念和内容,以及在多大程度上体现了公民教育的核心内涵。文章采用内容分析的方法对新疆地方教材进行研究,揭示教材的积极方面和存在问题,为地方教材的进一步完善提供参考,进而促进新疆少数民族地区基础教育的发展。     

随机性检测方法在加密比特流识别中的应用研究

为识别链路层加密比特流,以未加密与加密数据在随机统计特性上的差异为依据,对4种典型的随机性检测方法在比特流长度不同时的识别率进行了比较研究.针对块内最长游程检测过程中出现的比特流尾部比特位不能构成完整子块的问题,提出了2种可行的处理方案.通过对块内最长游程检测门限值函数的研究,基于参数优化的方法改进了块内最长游程的检测方案,在一定程度上提高了识别率.最后,以某无线网络链路层加密比特流为识别对象,对提出方案的有效性进行了验证.