Sea Power – Volatile nation remains a strategically important ally, but experts worry about its intrinsic vulnerabilities.

more…

Foreign Affairs – The United States’ current account deficit and foreign debt are not dire threats to its global position, as would-be Cassandras warn. U.S. power is firmly grounded on economic superiority and financial stability that will not end soon.

more…

Foreign Affairs – Two years ago, Washington accused Pyongyang of running a secret nuclear weapons program. But how much evidence was there to back up the charge? A review of the facts shows that the Bush administration misrepresented and distorted the data–while ignoring the one real threat North Korea actually poses.

more…

New York Times Magazine – Niall Ferguson on why Asian banks finance the U.S. way of life???and the power these banks therefore hold over US foreign policy.

more…

Foreign Affairs – Three new studies of the international community’s attempts at postwar state reconstruction in the 1990s offer valuable lessons about how best to handle the job, but they also overgeneralize and miss critical differences among their cases.
more…

Naval War College Review – Traditionally, the categories of jus ad bellum (a just decision to wage war) and jus in bello (just behavior in war) have defined “just war.” This theory has been continually adapted and revised to reflect ever-changing geopolitical realities, and events in Afghanistan and Iraq suggest it is time for a fundamental expansion of scope. Has the time come to embrace a third category-jus post bellum, justice in the postconflict stage of war?

more…

Naval War College Review – How should the United States provide for its security in a context of both unprecedented power and vulnerability? Is it required in this situation to act as Leviathan to promote a Pax Americana? The United States can pursue its security interests and an ethical foreign policy at the same time, and that would be the most promising route to success in both the war on terror and the promotion of democracy and stability.

more…

Esquire – Thomas P.M. Barnett lays out what he feels the Bush Administration’s foreign policy should be in its second term. Fascinating reading???
more…

Frontline – The House of Saud has controlled every aspect of Saudi life and politics since the kingdom was established in 1932. But outside the Desert Kingdom, little is known about Saudi Arabia’s secretive royal family. An exploration of how the Al Saud family maintains its hold on power in the face of growing tensions between Islam and modernity. Read the fascinating transcript.
more…

Washington Post – The United States and Japan will declare Saturday for the first time in a joint agreement that Taiwan is a mutual security concern, according to a draft of the document. Analysts called the move a demonstration of Japan’s willingness to confront the rapidly growing might of China.
more…

National Intelligence Council – An attempt to define what the global landscape will look like in 2020.
more…

Naval War College Review – Like the United States after the Vietnam War, European militaries are seeking creative solutions to recruit, retain, and motivate the high-quality volunteers they need. But the demographic, economic, social, and labor environments within which the militaries compete for employees are different, and Europe is likely to find the task more difficult, costly, and lengthy than did the United States.

more…

Christian Science Monitor – In a sign of deepening popular and political animosity between China and Japan, Tokyo took formal possession this week of a tiny archipelago in the Pacific waters south of Japan. In the early morning of Feb. 9, Tokyo informed Beijing’s embassy here that the Senkaku Islands would be administered by the Japanese coast guard. The unexpectedly bold action by Tokyo received little attention here. But it is seen as a “serious chess move,” says one diplomat, in a region where power relations are being redefined, and where tensions over energy, borders, military buildups, and ethnic rivalries are palpable.
more…

Foreign Affairs – Renewed anxiety over a nuclear attack has prompted three new books on the threat and how to confront it. On one key point they all agree: the need to ensure that “peaceful” nuclear programs do not serve as a guise for less-than-peaceful intentions.
more…

Naval War College Review – Saddam Hussein, in over a decade of deception and defiance ending in March 2003, repudiated sixteen United Nations Security Council resolutions designed to ensure that Iraq did not threaten international peace and circumvented ten others imposing economic sanctions. What is the international law related to intervention in the case of such violations? The values underlying the UN Charter must be reconciled with its procedures.

more…

Parameters – A look at how the news media is attempting to cover Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations.”
more…

Foreign Affairs – Thinking of modern jihad as simply a cultural extension of Islam is a common, and unfortunate, mistake. Two new books by Gilles Kepel and Olivier Roy offer better historical and sociological explanations, but they are only a start.

more…

StrategyPage – James F. Dunnigan summarizes the 10 largest ongoing wars.

more…

New York Post – Ralph Peters argues for a shift in our strategic priorities and a fundamental rethinking of the way we view the world. His conclusion is that the Indian Ocean lies at the heart of postmodern strategy.
more…

Foreign Affairs – In his first four years, George W. Bush presided over the most sweeping redesign of U.S. strategy since the days of F.D.R. Over the next four, his basic direction should remain the same: restoring security in a more dangerous world. Some midcourse corrections, however, are overdue. Washington should remember the art of speaking softly and the need for international legitimacy.

more…

Daily Telegraph – Niall Ferguson on how Vladimir Putin is fast becoming as big a threat to Western security as he is to Russian democracy.
more…

Parameters – How water will become a resource that will lead to conflict in the Middle East and North Africa.

more…

Foreign Affairs – The current turmoil in the Gaza Strip represents the most serious challenge to Yasir Arafat’s authority in decades. Israel’s planned disengagement from Gaza brought to a boil long-simmering tensions among Palestinian factions demanding a change in the status quo. Holding national elections before the pullout may be the only way to avoid chaos and save any chance at Middle East peace.

more…

C-SPAN – Thomas P. M. Barnett delivers his legendary brief on “The Pentagon’s New Map.” The brief is 90 minutes, followed by 60 minutes of questions and answers. The format for the video is Real Media.
more…

Foreign Affairs – For 50 years, the United States has maintained its economic edge by being better and faster than any other country at inventing and exploiting new technologies. Today, however, its dominance is starting to slip, as Asian countries pour resources into R&D and challenge America’s traditional role in the global economy.

more…