ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Editor's Note:   This is the first in a series of monographs on the geopolitics of countries influential in world affairs. The founding principle of geopolitics is that place -- geography -- plays a significant role in determining how nations will behave. If that theory is true, then there ought to be a deep continuity in a nation's foreign policy. Israel is a laboratory for this theory, since it has existed in three different manifestations in roughly the same place, twice in antiquity and once in modernity. If geopolitics is correct, then Israeli foreign policy, independent of policymakers, technology or the identity of neighbors, ought to have important common features. This is, therefore, a discussion of common principles in Israeli foreign policy over nearly 3,000 years. For convenience, we will use the term "Israel" to connote all of the Hebrew and Jewish entities that have existed in the Levant since the invasion of the region as chronicled in

A United Nations report says the world's permafrost is beginning to thaw, bringing with it the threat of a big increase in global warming by 2100. Permafrost is a deep layer of frozen soil covering about a quarter of landmass in the northern hemisphere, and is thought to contain twice the amount of carbon already in the atmosphere. A global temperature increase of 3°C means a 6°C increase in the Arctic, resulting in anywhere between 30 to 85 per cent loss of near-surface permafrost. Such widespread permafrost degradation will permanently change local hydrology, increasing the frequency of fire and erosion disturbances. Damage to critical infrastructure, such as buildings and roads, will incur significant social and economic costs. If the permafrost thaws, the organic matter will thaw and decay, potentially releasing large amounts of CO2 and methane into the atmosphere. Thawing permafrost could emit 43 to 135 Gt of CO2 equivalent by 2100 and 246 to 415 Gt of CO2 equiv

What do Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman have in common? Each of these corporations is one of the top five largest defense contractors in the nation. In 2011 alone, the Department of Defense committed to spending nearly $100 billion with just these five companies. To put that in perspective, that is about the same amount spent on the entire federal education budget for 2011. But these defense contractors have one other interesting statistic in common: Between 2009 and 2011, at least nine of the top-level generals and admirals who retired took positions with these five companies. In fact, 70 percent of the 108 three-and-four star generals and admirals who retired during this time period took jobs with defense contractors or consultants. These startling statistics are just some of the insights revealed in a new report and accompanying short film released yesterday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Brave New Foun

The remains of Yasser Arafat have been exhumed as experts try to ascertain whether the Palestinian leader was poisoned. The probe comes less than a week after the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel and precedes a UN vote on Palestine’s nation status. Traces of a radioactive substance were found of Arafat’s effects in July, adding impetus to the theory he was murdered. The procedure began at 05:00 GMT and was carried out in the presence of French, Russian and Swiss experts to verify its validity. Scientists took samples of Arafat’s bones, which they will take back to their respective countries. There they will be analyzed for traces of radioactive material and other lethal substances. Experts have said a full investigation into the causes of Arafat’s death could take several months. Journalists were prohibited from attending the exhumation “because [of the] sanctity of the symbol and the sanctity of this event,” a former Palestinian intelligence chief told AFP. A probe was la

IntelCenter Terrorist & Rebel Video Listing for October 2012 -Video-Oct2012-Listing-20Nov2012.pdf

Brussels/Cairo   |   26 Nov 2012 President Mohamed Morsi’s dramatic one-two punch – producing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on 22 November; issuing a constitutional declaration granting himself full powers the next day – was proof of remarkable political deftness. It also was evidence of the impasse in which Egypt’s transition has been stuck as well as of the Muslim Brotherhood’s worrying tendency to try to overcome it by ignoring rather than compromising with its detractors. Morsi had ample justification for frustration. A highly politicised judiciary has been doing all in its power to hinder the new leadership’s efforts and obstruct the expression of popular will, while the non-Islamist opposition has not shown itself the least bit constructive or conciliatory. But the president has offered the wrong answer to a real problem. He used a chainsaw where a scalpel was needed. The key lies in devising a compromise enabling the transition to move forward at a reasona

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS The volatile security situation and political tensions are threatening Côte d’Ivoire’s recovery. The last few months have seen a series of deadly attacks against a police station, one of the main military bases of the country, several army positions and a power station. Violence also broke out in the west. Although these incidents do not pose a direct threat to stability, they show that, for some segments of the population, the war is not yet over. Some signs are particularly worrying: slow security sector reform, stalled political dialogue, a weak ruling coalition, a return to violent discourses, uncovered coup plots, and an apparent lack of political will to promote national reconciliation. President Alassane Ouattara and his new government should not rely solely on economic recovery and the tightening of security measures to consolidate peace. International attention should remain focused on Côte d’Ivoire’s stabilisation, which is all the m