NATO and the broader Middle East, 1949–2007: The history and lessons of controversial encounters

The engagement of the Atlantic Alliance in the Middle East dates back to the founding of the Alliance. With one eye on this history and one eye on current controversies, this article investigates the preconditions for and nature of the allies' engagement in the region in order to assess whether the Middle East today is causing a rupture within the Alliance. The article finds that the Alliance was never likely to engage as one in the region. The Alliance instead guarded its cohesion by either letting the Alliance leader, the United States, take a lead role or by acting as a coalition enabling framework. This latter option has prevailed since the early 1980s. Today, NATO can preserve its cohesion and simultaneously engage in the region if it continues this legacy of coalition-making from within the allied framework. Conversely, an effort to engage collectively in the region will likely set of internal tensions to the extent that the Alliance itself will be at risk.     

‘Stay-Behind’ in France: Much ado about nothing?

Stay-behind networks in France were set up starting in 1948 and were aimed at responding to the possibility of a Soviet armed attack into Western Europe. Participants were identified, and arms and explosives cached, to be activated in case of hostilities. This activity became folded into a multilateral effort under the Allied Coordination Committee (ACC) of NATO. In France, the network was run as a highly compartmented activity under the French external intelligence service (DGSE). As the Soviet threat receded, the stay-behind activity became more and more dormant, and in 1990 it was quietly disbanded, immediately after the P-2 scandal broke in Italy.     

Waging the inchoate war: Defining,fighting, and second-guessing the ‘Long War’

Abstract

This article answers three questions: What is the nature of the Long War? How is progress (or lack thereof) to be assessed? Where is it likely to go next? An appreciation of Clausewitz shows that practical centers of gravity exist for the Long War, and that the conflict pivots upon the ability to persuasively link ideology to events via a strategic narrative. A close examination of an illustrative case study, the interaction between the US and the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq 2004 – 2006, shows that Al Qaeda has suffered a severe setback, but also that the nature of the war is set to shift yet again. Further tangible progress for the US requires waging the Long War as a global counterinsurgency based on a strategy of ‘selective identification’ (versus pure ‘disaggregation’) as well as an understanding of how to more effectively craft a strategic narrative.     

内编队地球重力场测量性能数值分析

内编队系统通过实现内卫星纯引力轨道环境和内卫星精密定轨,完成高精度地球重力场测量,实现了不依赖于加速度计的重力卫星实施新途径。针对内编队重力场测量性能难以解析分析的情况,基于MATLAB并行程序设计进行了重力场测量数值模拟,获得了内编队重力场测量的有效阶数及其精度。在内编队轨道高度为300km、内卫星干扰力为1.0×10-10m/s2、外卫星定轨精度为3cm、内外卫星相对状态测量精度为1mm的条件下,计算得到内编队测量重力场的有效阶数为72,相应的大地水准面累积误差为44cm,重力异常累积误差为4.5mGal,由此可知内编队测量重力场的有效阶数主要分布在低阶部分。     

基于组合赋权雷达图实现电网电能质量综合评估

将改进的组合赋权雷达图方法用于电网电能质量综合评估。对主观、客观赋权法组合,基于组合权重与原权重之间的偏差尽可能小的优化思想,求取雷达图中各项指标的组合权值。利用各指标对应的扇形区域的对角线作为指标轴绘制雷达图,不仅最大限度体现各指标的独立权重,也反映了各指标之间的相互影响。利用雷达图的面积和周长两个变量完成对电能质量的综合评估。最后通过应用实例,验证了论文方法的合理性和在电能质量综合评估中的有效性。     

基于联合相似测度的SAR图像边缘点特征配准方法

针对SAR图像配准过程中几何变换影响特征匹配稳健性和适应性的问题,提出了一种在特征匹配过程中直接解算几何变换模型的边缘点特征配准方法。利用SAR图像边缘点的梯度和方向特征,基于像素迁移思想,定义了图像匹配的联合相似度——联合特征均方和(SSJF),并建立了SAR图像边缘点集相似性匹配准则;基于方向模板提出了改进的ROEWA算子;利用改进的遗传算法(GA)来进行相似度的全局优化搜索,获取配准模型参数;利用多幅SAR图像的配准试验,对本文方法的性能进行了验证。     

失去润滑条件下弧齿锥齿轮传动系统瞬态温度场Simulink仿真分析

根据传热学理论和热网络法,以某型直升机尾减速器弧齿锥齿轮传动系统为研究对象,建立了其温度场Simulink仿真计算模型。基于该模型,计算获得该传动系统正常润滑条件下的稳态温度场,并以它作为初始条件计算分析该传动系统失去润滑条件下的瞬态温度场,为预测该弧齿锥齿轮传动系统在失去润滑条件下的干运转生存能力提供理论依据。     

航空导航技术的发展方向

针对航空导航的特点,对现有航空导航装备的特点进行了分析,并结合未来作战的需求,给出了航空导航技术的发展方向,主要是组合式导航体制,将卫星导航与惯导的组合进一步与地形辅助导航、地球物理导航、地磁导航等方式结合起来.     

Component importance for linear consecutive‐ k ‐Out‐of‐ n and m ‐Consecutive‐ k ‐Out‐of‐ n systems with exchangeable components

Measuring the relative importance of components in a mechanical system is useful for various purposes. In this article, we study Birnbaum and Barlow‐Proschan importance measures for two frequently studied system designs: linear consecutive k ‐out‐of‐ n and m ‐consecutive‐ k ‐out‐of‐ n systems. We obtain explicit expressions for the component importance measures for systems consisting of exchangeable components. We illustrate the results for a system whose components have a Lomax type lifetime distribution. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013     

When Peacekeepers Fail Thousands are Going to Die. The ETO in Rwanda: a Story of Deception

This study develops the concepts of fourth generation operations and the associated principles. First, the concept of fourth generation operations is introduced and defined. Fourth generation operations are the evolution and extension of third and fourth generation warfare based on a change of tactics, technology, and combatants. These operations are currently ongoing in Afghanistan and Iraq, and with the global war on terrorism. Based on the framework of US joint doctrine, the supporting principles of fourth generation operations are developed. This requires the introduction of the principle of Population Perception.