Strategic Insights, Volume VII, Issue 1 (February 2008)
by Friedrich Steinhäusler, James A. Russell, and Daniel Moran

Strategic Insights is a bi-monthly electronic journal produced by the Center for Contemporary Conflict at the Naval [...]

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As the world’s attention increasingly focuses on Russia’s March 2 presidential election, speculation is rising about what President Vladimir Putin will do in the aftermath.
While it’s a foregone conclusion in Russia that First Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will most likely replace Putin, various theories have been floated, several of which seem to have Putin’s [...]

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How fortuitous for it, then, that the United States is expending military capital without replenishment, and Europe has spiritually resigned from its own defense, with Germany, for example, now devoting only 1.4% of its GDP to the task. Having been deeply humiliated in recent years, Russia is sure to seek redress if not in action [...]

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As an 18-year-old student with an interest in the Internet, Zhu Nan had been itching to say something about the country’s pervasive online censorship system, widely known here as the Great Firewall.
When China’s censors began blocking access to the popular photo-sharing site Flickr, Mr. Zhu felt the moment had come. Writing on his blog last [...]

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In his January/February cover story, “A World Without Islam,” Graham Fuller takes issue with those who blame religion for the rift between East and West. He imagines what the world have looked like without Islam—and argues that it would look much the same. Now, he answers your questions about the role of religion, the future [...]

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Long-range rockets and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles are some of the weapons smuggled into the Gaza Strip over the last 12 days, Yuval Diskin, head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), told the cabinet Sunday.
Diskin also said numerous terrorists from Iran, Syria and Egypt affiliated with various organizations were smuggled into Gaza and - [...]

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The Safir (Emissary) was launched into space Monday, Feb. 4, on top of the improved Shahab-3 which has a 4,000 km range. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Iranian launch was Tehran’s rejoinder to Israel’s test of a new long-range missile propulsion engine on Jan. 17. Western experts reported at the time that Israel’s newly-powered [...]

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“With China’s help,” gloated Gen. Bashir (who has effectively obstructed the current mission of the combined force sent by the U.N. Security Council and the African Union), “Sudan will certainly score glorious achievements one after another on our path of construction and development.” And China’s glory in hosting this year’s Olympics, so important for the [...]

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The big question about Russia these days is whether her domestic backsliding and international obstreperousness are transitional or terminal: Is this a bend in the road to democracy or journey’s end?
Edward Lucas, an Economist correspondent who specializes in Russia, gives a pessimistic answer in his book, “The New Cold War: How the Kremlin Menaces Both [...]

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Taken individually, Southeast Asian countries have varying perceptions of the possibility of China as a threat in the region. Yet, China still has existing territorial disputes with several countries in the region, namely Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam over the South China Sea. China also has overlapping territorial claims with Indonesia in the [...]

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Could something like it happen again? That is invariably the first question that comes to mind when recalling that Hitler was given power in Germany 75 years ago last week.
With the world now facing such great instability, the question seems more obvious than ever.
Hitler came to power in a democracy with a highly liberal constitution, [...]

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