Tag Archives: Muammar Qaddafi

Tis the Season of Dictators

Starting with the demise of Saddam Hussein, a number of Middle Eastern dictators from Hosni Mubarak to Muammar Qaddafi have fallen from power. Yet one remains: Admiral General Aladeen. Of course, Admiral General Aladeen is comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s amalgamation … Continue reading

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Posted in Humor, Middle East, Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Libya: Operational Success, Strategic Failure

Last week, Bloomberg’s Jonathan Alter posed a tantalizing question: “you think Obama’s been a bad president? Prove it.” More specifically, Alter challenged the president’s detractors to identify specific administration policy failures. On Monday, conservative David Frum responded to Alter’s throwing down the gauntlet … Continue reading

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Posted in Defense, Energy Security, International Security, Middle East, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Policy, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Is the Libyan War Over? Not By a Long Shot

Al Jazeera reported today that Libyan opposition fighters just seized Tripoli’s Green Square and are celebrating a military victory over Qaddafi’s regime. Now that rebel forces appear to have defeated Qaddafi’s loyalists, the next hurdle will be avoiding further bloodshed amongst themselves.

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Posted in Defense, Energy Security, International Security, Middle East, Policy, Politics, Terrorism, War | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Game Theory for Middle Eastern Dictators

Towards a Dominant Strategy In “Saudis Shrug Off Day of Rage: Three Strategies to Suppress a Revolt Before It Starts“, I argued that there are two archetypal models for a dictator to deal with popular revolts in the Middle East: crush them or … Continue reading

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Posted in Defense, Energy Security, International Security, Mathematics, Middle East, Policy, Politics, Predictions, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Syria: A Clearer Case for Intervention

With American forces tied down providing air cover for rebels in al Qaeda-infested Benghazi, the United States has committed forces that it could have used to enforce a no-fly zone over its real enemy in Damascus. So far, Syrian government forces … Continue reading

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Posted in Defense, Energy Security, International Security, Middle East, Nuclear proliferation, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments