Delusion of Defeat: The United States and Iraq, 1990–1998

This article challenges the widely held belief that that the United States ‘won the war but lost the peace’ following the war with Iraq in 1991. Fears of a resurgent Iraq grew throughout the decade, despite abundant evidence that Iraq was becoming desperately weak and was no longer a threat to regional security. In fact, the United States won the war as well as the peace by any meaningful definition of the term. The article also discusses the reasons why US policymakers and observers convinced themselves that they had lost. The final section considers implications for strategy and policy in wars of limited objectives.     

海拔对离心泵吸入性能的影响

海拔对离心泵吸入性能影响较大,但对应关系不明确。为定量分析海拔与离心泵吸入性能的关系,需进行泵高原工作吸入性能实验。海拔与真空度关系密切,利用控制泵吸入口真空度的方法,开展泵高原工作吸入性能模拟实验,获取各工况下泵吸入口持液率数据,并绘制曲线图。实验结果表明：海拔每升高500 m,泵吸入口持液率下降2%~5%;随着海拔的提升,泵吸入性能下降速率加快,工作状态趋于不稳定。     

反恐怖劫持事件中不同目的谈判语言的运用策略

在反劫持谈判中,为了能够解除现场的那种僵持、对抗、凝固的情形,谈判者就得运用不同目的的语言来使劫持者向预期的方向前进。从理论上讲,每一名谈判人员都希望通过和平的方式解决劫持事件。因此,我们必须学会运用反恐谈判讨价的语言、拖延的语言、劝降的语言和摊牌的语言,来使劫持事件得到和平解决或为武力解救行动创造良好时机。     

军校图书馆发挥思想政治教育功能实现途径探析

图书馆是军队院校思想政治教育的重要阵地。分析论证了图书馆在军校思想政治教育中具有的转化功能、强化功能和内化功能,并从强化阵地意识、注重阅读引导、提高服务水平、营造环境氛围四个方面,就如何发挥军校图书馆在思想政治教育中的功能作用进行了探讨。     

A gentle occupation: unravelling the Dutch approach in Iraq, 2003–2005

This article examines the so-called ‘Dutch approach’ to conducting stabilisation operations. The term is mostly used in relation to the mission carried out by the Netherlands armed forces in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province from 2006 to 2010, but actually originates in the Iraqi province of Al Muthanna. Here, a 1350-strong battle group operated from July 2003 until March 2005 as part of the US-led coalition, after which the Dutch forces left Iraq relatively unscathed and self-confident of their ability in dealing with this type of conflict. On the basis of archival research and interviews, the authors unravel the ‘Dutch approach’ in southern Iraq by tracing its roots and by examining the Dutch operation in the context of the American and British experiences. They argue that despite predominantly effective tactical reflexes and an overall adequately broad interpretation by battle group commanders of a too narrowly defined political mandate, stability in Al Muthanna was conditions-driven rather than the result of a unique and effective approach. The term ‘Dutch approach’ turned out to be a convenient fabrication which, after the relatively successful mission in Al Muthanna, became increasingly politicised in the run-up to a dangerous new operation in southern Afghanistan.     

Capacity investment decisions under risk aversion

This article studies the optimal capacity investment problem for a risk‐averse decision maker. The capacity can be either purchased or salvaged, whereas both involve a fixed cost and a proportional cost/revenue. We incorporate risk preference and use a consumption model to capture the decision maker's risk sensitivity in a multiperiod capacity investment model. We show that, in each period, capacity and consumption decisions can be separately determined. In addition, we characterize the structure of the optimal capacity strategy. When the parameters are stationary, we present certain conditions under which the optimal capacity strategy could be easily characterized by a static two‐sided (s, S) policy, whereby, the capacity is determined only at the beginning of period one, and held constant during the entire planning horizon. It is purchased up to B when the initial capacity is below b, salvaged down to Σ when it is above σ, and remains constant otherwise. Numerical tests are presented to investigate the impact of demand volatility on the optimal capacity strategy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 218–235, 2016     

Reforming China’s defense industry

ABSTRACT

Even with sizable economic inputs, access to foreign technologies, and considerable political will, China, up until the late 1990s, experienced only limited success when it came to the local design, development, and manufacture of advanced conventional weapons. Not surprisingly, therefore, reforming the local defense industry in order to upgrade its technology base and manufacturing capabilities and to make armaments production more efficient and cost-effective has long preoccupied the Chinese leadership. The fact that most of these efforts had little positive impact on the country’s military technological and industrial capabilities only encouraged Beijing to experiment with additional reforms in the hopes of finally getting it right.     

Research on fuze microswitch based on corona discharge effect

Abnormal voltages such as electrostatic, constant current, and strong electromagnetic signals can erro-neously trigger operation of MEMS pyrotechnics and control systems in a fuze, which may result in casualties. This study designs a solid-state micro-scale switch by combining the corona gas discharge theory of asymmetric electric fields and Peek's Law. The MEMS switch can be transferred from "off" to"on" through the gas breakdown between the corona electrodes. In the model, one of the two electrodes is spherical and the other flat, so a non-uniform electric field is formed around the electrodes. The theoretical work is as follows. First, the relation among the radius of curvature of the spherical electrode, the discharge gap, and the air breakdown voltage is obtained; to meet the low voltage (30-60 V) required to drive the MEMS switch, the radius of curvature of the spherical electrode needs to be 10-50 μm and the discharge gap between the two electrodes needs to be 9-11 μm. Second, the optimal ratio ε is introduced to parameterize the model. Finally, the corona discharge structural parameters are determined by comparing the theoretical and electric field simulation results. The switch is then fabricated via MEMS processing. A hardware test platform is built and the performing chip tested. It is found that when the electrode gap is 9 μm, the electrostatic voltage is at least 37.3 V, with an error of 2.6% between the actual and theoretical air breakdown voltages. When the electrode gap is 11 μm, the electrostatic voltage is at least 42.3 V, with an error of 10.5% between the actual and theoretical air breakdown voltages. Both cases meet the design requirements.     

大学生思想政治教育中关于红色文化资源的思考

面对＂90后＂大学生,用红色文化占领舆论高地,有利于增强思想政治教育的实效性,有利于培养正确的人生观、价值观,有利于传承优良革命传统,有利于激发强烈爱国情感,有利于发扬艰苦奋斗作风,从而消解潜在矛盾。     

依据《人民武装警察法》加强武警部队履职能力建设

武警部队依法执行国家赋予的安全保卫任务时,通常政治敏感度高、事发紧急、政策法规性强、舆论关注力度大。针对以上特点,部队要严格依据《人民武装警察法》有关规定,忠实履行职责使命,不断提高把关定向能力、核心军事能力、依法办事能力和科学管理能力。