Beyond Putinism

12/23/2011
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 12/14/2011 - Recent Russian elections have identified several weaknesses in Russia’s political system, but not the means solve them. Russia is experiencing its own unexpected Arab Spring, though the system should survive and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is likely to…

Pakistan-US Tensions: In Strategic Decline?

12/22/2011
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 12/22/2011 - In addition to the immediate causes of the November 26 incident, there are deeper reasons for the elevated levels of tension that have degraded Pakistani-U.S. relations during the past few years. The two countries have regularly been allies…

Turkish Divisions over Central Asia

10/26/2011
10/26/2011 By Richard Weitz One of the few points of division we encountered among Turkish government officials and analysts was their competing views regarding future political developments in Central Asia. One group believes that Central Asia was ripe for deep political change through its own version of the Arab Spring.…

Turkey and Tehran: Cooperation and Conflict

10/25/2011
10/25/2011 - By Dr. Richard Weitz During our time in Turkey, a key issue of interest was getting an update on their relationship with Iran. Although we were in Turkey for only one week, it was evident that Turkey’s relationship with Iran is complex. The two countries cooperate in some…

A New Project Solarium

09/20/2011
By Dr. Richard Weitz 09/21/2011 - Many think tanks have been launching new “Project Solarium” exercises designed to assess the advantages, costs, risks, and implications of several plausible U.S. grand strategies in coming years. These exercises seek to identify the most important trends, drivers, and potential "black swans" that could…

Better Homeland Defenses Needed Against EMP Threat

09/04/2011
By Dr. Richard Weitz 09/04/2011 - An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy caused by the rapid acceleration of charged particles. Once the pulse reaches electronic devices, it disables, damages, or destroys them. An electromagnetic bomb (E-bomb), the deliberate creation of EMP for attacking targets, represents…

The Libyan Threat

08/27/2011
08/27/2011 By Richard Weitz Although the insurgents look to have secured control of Tripoli, Muammar el-Qaddafi’s threat to the international community has not ended. Dangers still persist from the dictator’s dabbling in weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that the…

Pondering American Grand Strategy

08/13/2011
08/12/2011: Pondering American Grand Strategy By Richard Weitz On Thursday, August 4, 2011, CNA convened a one-day unclassified conference on "American Grand Strategy and Maritime Power" at the Army and Navy Club in downtown Washington. This column will address the grand strategy issues that were raised; the next one will…