...Concern continues to grow about the developing Iranian nuclear capability. Through a variety of sources, the CIA believes it has access inside a heretofore unknown Iranian nuclear facility, deep underground and with very limited access, even by Iranian officials. The CIA's asset has the capability to disrupt the Iranian operation, either by means of planting a virus in the facility's computer system or by causing a disruption through the planting of a bomb or similar object. (LENGTH 4 - 5 pages doublespaced PLUS citations) Answer: the nuclear program of Iran was launched in 1950’s in collaboration with the United States of America as part of the Atoms of Peace program. During the Iran-Iraq war in 1980’s, over 100,000 Iranian troops and civilians became the victims of chemical weapons. So Iran is has a first- hand knowledge of the effects of Weapons of Mass destruction. It has signed different treaties such as Nuclear-non Proliferation Treaty to show its concern about the risks of WMD. But now the true intentions of Iran on developing the nuclear capability are unknown. The U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that if Iran pursue to achieve the chemical weapons capability again it would be unlikely that it achieve this capability before 2013 or it might extends till 2015.( US Intelligence,2009). Iran nuclear program includes several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor and uranium enrichment facilities that include three known uranium enrichment plants. The...
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...Value Chain Challenges Toyota has one of the most streamlined global value chains of any organization. Even so, the organization sees challenges when investing in different countries around the globe. Iran and Turkey will be evaluated as Toyota looks to expand into countries where they currently do not operate. The evaluation will include an analysis of the legal and ethical issues, political stability, financial considerations, infrastructure, geography, suppliers, manufacturers, socioeconomic and cultural factors. Legal and Ethical Issues Doing business in Iran is taken personal on every level; from government officials to working employees. Networking is usually done through friends and family. Asking for favors is never an issue as long as they can be repaid. Iran always has been seen as a security concern to the United States and other countries. Iran has been targeted by the Financial Action Task Force for money laundering and ties with Latin American countries. Speculation of Iran’s association with the Venezuelan government has Iran paying them to mine uranium for the Iranian government (Ethics World, 2010). Turkey is out to fix the corruption within its country by establishing harsher legal policies and regulation that allow the country’s businesses to meet EU standards of governance. Turkey’s new outlook on life can be summed up in a quote found on an international blog site, created by Aleksander Shkolnikov. “When governments are corrupt, there is less incentive...
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...EMERGING ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONFLICTS AS THREAT TO PROSPERITY Biyash Chakraborty MBA- International Business Email: chakraborty.biyash93@gmail.com University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun. (Uttarakhand), INDIA __________________________________________________________________________ Abstract India’s rapid economic growth has made it the second fastest growing energy market in the world. Its domestic and international strategies has produced foreign policy differences with the United States that will require careful management on both sides. India’s basic approach to energy diplomacy has been to develop its supply potential and neutralize its potential competitors, principally China. India’s strategic interest in Iran as its energy partner and then the Iraq crisis are having a negative consequence on its economic prosperity, placing it on crossroads with the US. There is a divide between US and EU about the wisdom and desirability of imposing harsh economic sanctions on Russia. In any such confrontation, EU stands to lose much more than the US, though it can be argued that Russia will be the worst loser. In future, Russia may try to find new potential market for its gas and that could be India. So it is important for India to take its stand on Ukraine crisis carefully without tarnishing its relation with USA. India’s long-term prosperity hinges to some degree on a conflict free neighborhood; that an economically integrated region is in India’s...
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...Malik ♣ Abstract The pragmatic facets like geography and history have always imprinted the demographical mosaic and development of a civilisation. The civilisations have always developed along the waters. The waters have been used as trade route since long and the modern trade has further enhanced the need of trade through waters. Pakistan being a gateway to the strategically important 'Strait Of Hurmoz' in the Indian Ocean, blessed with hidden treasures and bordering two Islamic Republics, Afghanistan and Iran, has always been a centre piece for Regional Politics. The emergence of Gwadar Port as a vibrant regional economic hub has caused the regional and extra regional powers to develop strategic and infra structural development with Gwadar Port to reach the energy rich Central Asian Republics (CARs). Iran and Dubai Port World (UAE) have interests to keep Gwadar Port out of competition as it serves as a gateway to Strait of Hurmoz. Pakistan needs to be addressing all the concerns to make Gwadar as a regional energy corridor. Key Words: Strategic, Gwadar, Sea lines of communications, Caspian region, Indian ocean Geo Strategic Importance “If we see this whole region, it is like a funnel. The top of the funnel is this wide area of Central Asia and also China's western region. And this funnel gets narrowed on through Afghanistan and Pakistan and the end of this funnel is Gwadar port. So this funnel, futuristically, is the economic funnel of this whole region” (Former President of Pakistan...
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...badly. Instability is there in general. Iran and Saudi Arabia= enemies . Nuclear weapons. -Persian Gulf-> -Iran sponsors terrorism, better than Alkada. Doesn’t believe in the state of Israel and they pursue nuclear weapons. Iranian Sheia endure pain Conflict with Iran and Israel -Afghanistan & Pakistan-> both governments are weak in not providing services -weak economy, and the floods only worsened this -also terrorists threat to kill/replace governments -nuclear weapons Afghan -situation where their President reelection frauds, lots of candidates (this is positive), Nader is responsible for security in Afghan. -Need connection between police, army and President or no people will follow -If vote, were threatened to be killed, so the women would dress as mourners to vote. They want to change their government. They want improvement. They want a good government. Iraq- 50,000 troops there. Iraqis can handle their own internal security. Violence is there because of uncertainty about where the government is going. -French foreign minister says positive things about Iraq (first foreign power to do so) “The democratic Iraq has potential for changing dynamics in the middle east.” (Because the middle east with Israel and all the tensions and constant battles, this says a lot and gives hope to a light out of the constant tension this region is constantly in.) -China-> not traditional military threat; -growing economy power but millions in poverty...
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...Israel this past summer, the United States was nonetheless a central player in the war. U.S. policy was defined by staunch American support for Israel and repeated calls by U.S. officials to use the crisis as a means to get at the root causes of violence in the region. What were the American objectives in this war? Does a preliminary assessment suggest that Washington took steps toward achieving them? How does U.S. policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict look moving forward? American Objectives in the Israel-Hezbollah War Two global foreign policy commitments informed the United States view of the Israel-Hezbollah confrontation this past summer; the war on terror and the democratization of the Middle East. Since September 11, 2001, the American war on terror has been defined to include several different international actors. In his speech of September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush stated that the war would “not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated,” and that “any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” In addition, he warned, terrorists could not be accommodated but instead must be met by force. This approach has most directly been applied to al-Qaeda and its satellites, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Saddam Hussein’s regime. But it has also generated a general lack of U.S. sympathy for any terrorist groups that target American allies, even if the organization’s...
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...Just 20 years ago, Russia and the energy-rich countries of Central Asia, such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, were all united, as parts of the Soviet Union. Moscow would have had unfettered access to their oil and gas reserves. But the Central Asian states realise one of their greatest strategic strengths as independent countries is playing off the big global powers now scrambling to buy their precious energy supplies. So, Moscow now finds itself in fierce competition with the big players: China, the US and Europe. "Russia's overall position in Central Asia is shrinking," says Mikhail Kroutikhin, editor-in-chief of the Russian Energy Weekly. "Russia is in retreat and the Chinese are jumping on the big opportunities." New 'Great Game'? Rivalry in the region is often compared with the 19th Century British-Russian imperial rivalry nicknamed the "Great Game". China's president officially opened the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline The past year has seen some key moments in the new energy "Great Game" in Central Asia, with the first pipelines being commissioned that take oil and gas east to China, instead of north and west. From Kazakhstan, 200,000 barrels of oil are now being pumped every day across the border into the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, and there are plans to double this pipeline's capacity. From Turkmenistan, a pipeline carrying gas to China via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was opened last December by...
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...over the next half century squeezes the issue further more and turns it into a national concern; predominately with the possible repercussions on the UAE’s prosperous economy. Looking forward, the UAE government is embarking upon a nuclear program to build four nuclear reactors at Barakah near the capital Abu Dhabi by 2020, declaring nuclear energy to be the most practical solution to the rapidly growing energy requirements in the UAE. Critics of this plan deem it to be expensive, extremely risky, and an unwise move given the UAE’s geographical position in the middle of an area sparked by political tension due to nuclear issues in Iran and terrorist organizations in the Levant and Yemen. Despite the aforementioned criticism, nuclear energy is unequivocally the most efficient solution to address the rapidly growing energy requirements in the UAE, a capable long-term replacement for oil, and a potential imperative factor in mitigating CO2 emissions in the UAE, consequently preserving the environment and the ecological system of the UAE. Economics, the Environment, and Nuclear Energy Nuclear energy is a viable, commercially competitive option which would contribute to the UAE’s economy and future energy security. To begin with, the UAE relies on natural gas and oil to produce 98 percent of its electricity. Regarding oil, demand continues to grow, but Earth’s endowment of oil is finite. The U.S....
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...that hasn’t shown any lasting progress for decades, it’s time for the United States to take another look at its political strategy for achieving lasting peace in the region. With the events of early 2011 in the Middle East, otherwise known as Arab Spring, the region has become highly unstable and vulnerable to the influences of terrorism. This is a critical time for the United States to reestablish healthy diplomatic relations in the region in order to decrease the spread terrorism and harsh anti-American sentiment as well as bring about a lasting peace. In order for America to improve its foreign affairs in the Middle East it needs to finish strong in Iraq and Afghanistan, reach a peace agreement in Israel, push for more diplomacy with Iran, and support the rebels in Syria fighting injustice. By involving the rest of the world in the current situation in the Middle East the United States can build better diplomatic relations and bring about peace more rapidly, while also decreasing the already massive strain the region has on its economy. The second war in Iraq never should have happened. Though this is a bold statement that possibly discredits the sacrifice of thousands of American soldiers, it is a concept that...
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...Sri Lankan Oil Market Introduction Crude oil was naturally occurred a period of millions years ago. It has found in certain rock formations in the earth. It is not appearing all the area in the earth. Only few of countries are drilling crude oil in the world. This substance is a dark, sticky liquid known scientifically known as a hydrocarbon. That is a compound of carbon and hydrogen, with or without metallic elements such as oxygen and sulfur. Combination of these elements make the oil burned in case of excitation. Process does not stop after absorption of crude oil. There are lots of steps such as extraction the crude oil into category such as petrol and etc. Let’s look at measurement of crude oil. Not like other substances crude oil is measured in barrels. In the 19 century, it was stored in the wooden barrel in developed countries. In present, one barrel equals 42 US gallons, or 159 liters. Also, it is measured in ton scale. We clearly know that number of barrels contained in each ton varies depending on the type and density of each crude (average-7.33 barrels per each ton). Extraction procedure of petrol Petroleum is extracted crude oil which was absorbed from oil wells found in oil field. There some technologies to extract the petroleum but few of them are improved technologies such as fisher-Tropsch process. With higher demand for hydrocarbons miscellaneous method are used in petroleum exploration and development to optimize the recovery of oil and gas known as...
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...http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/11/24/iran.text.pdf • Pause efforts to further reduce Iran's crude oil sales, enabling Iran's current customers to purchase their current average amounts of crude oil. Enable the repatriation of an agreed amount of revenue held abroad. For such oil sales, suspend the EU and U.S. sanctions on associated insurance and transportation services. • Suspend U.S. and EU sanctions on: o Iran's petrochemical exports, as well as sanctions on associated services.5 o Gold and precious metals, as well as sanctions on associated services. • Suspend U.S. sanctions on Iran's auto industry, as well as sanctions on associated services. • License the supply and installation in Iran of spare parts for safety of flight for Iranian civil aviation and associated services. License safety related inspections and repairs in Iran as well as associated services. • Establish a financial channel to facilitate humanitarian trade for Iran's domestic needs using Iranian oil revenues held abroad. Humanitarian trade would be defined as transactions involving food and agricultural products, medicine, medical devices, and medical expenses incurred abroad. This channel would involve specified foreign banks and non-designated Iranian banks to be defined when establishing the channel. o This channel could also enable: transactions required to pay Iran's UN obligations; and, direct tuition payments to universities and colleges for Iranian students studying...
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...administration’s 2014 National Security Strategy comes amidst increasing criticism of its strategic savvy. Some are rank partisan, some Monday-morning quarterbacking. Some, though, reflect the intensifying debate over the optimal U.S. foreign policy strategy for our contemporary era. At one end of the debate are those advocating retrenchment, who see limited global threats on one hand and prioritize domestic concerns on the other—be they the budget-cutting of the Tea Party right or the nation-building-at-home of the progressive left. At the other end are neoconservatives and others pushing for re-assertiveness. This is based on a bullish assessment of U.S. power and the contention that it still is both in the U.S. national interest and that of world order for the United States to be the dominant nation. While retrenchment overestimates the extent to which the United States can stand apart, reassertiveness overestimates the extent to which it can sit atop. The United States must remain deeply and broadly engaged in the world, but it must do so through a strategy of recalibration to the geopolitical, economic, technological, and other dynamics driving this 21st-century world. This entails a re-appraisal of U.S. interests, re-assessment of U.S. power, and re-positioning Bruce W. Jentleson is a Professor at Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy, and currently Distinguished Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. From 2009–2011, he...
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...The Theory of Globalization in Dubai William Jackson Jr Keller School of Graduate Management Abstract This paper will explore Dubai, the world’s fastest growing city on the Arabian Gulf which features the most amazing projects, that appears to be the new tourism model for the world. Mega-resorts featuring golf courses, marinas, hotels, housing estates, super-malls and entertainment facilities are mushrooming along coastlines in all continents. The globalization in Dubai will be presented utilizing examples from South Africa, Vietnam, the Bahamas and Mexico. Many of those Mega-resort and housing complexes are built by Middle Eastern companies utilizing capital from the Middle East. The city of Dubai tourism-related projects are called “bubbles set to burst”. One analyst, called Dubai “the harshest of lessons in the perils of rampant property speculation”. The property, tourism and golf industries have already suffered downturns as a result of the global credit crunch, and the majority of the ambitious resort projects may not survive the current economic crisis. Developers and speculators will lose money, but the major losers will be local communities and the environment. In addition to concerns about the economic risks, there are growing worries about the global food shortage crisis and how it impacts of climate change. But decision-makers are careless when it comes to giving the green light to constructing monstrous resorts and housing...
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...calculating, is eminently deferrable. Should the United States invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein? If the United States is already at war with Iraq when this article is published, the immediate cause is likely to be Saddam's failure to comply with the new U.N. inspections regime to the Bush administration's satisfaction. But this failure is not the real reason Saddam and the united States have been on a collision course over the past year. The deeper root of the conflict is the U.S. position that Saddam must be toppled because he cannot be deterred from using weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Advocates of preventive war use numerous arguments to make their case, but their trump card is the charge that Saddam's past behavior proves he is too reckless, relentless, and aggressive to be allowed to possess WMD, especially nuclear weapons. They sometimes admit that war against Iraq might be costly, might lead to a lengthy U.S. occupation, and might complicate U.S. relations with other countries. But these concerns are eclipsed by the belief that the combination of Saddam plus nuclear weapons is too dangerous to accept. For that reason alone, he has to go. Even many opponents of preventive war seem to agree deterrence will not work in Iraq. Instead of invading Iraq and overthrowing the regime, however, these moderates favor using the threat of war to compel Saddam to permit new weapons inspections. Their hope is that inspections...
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...Islamic Terrorist Groups: A Comparative Study of Terror Jason Schrand HSM 305: Survey of Homeland Security & Emergency Mgmt Instructor: Blake Cheary October 6, 2013 The phrase "Islamic Terrorist" conjures many images for different people. Many will recollect the acts of September 11, 2001 - the act of terror that led the United States first into an invasion of the Taliban-controlled nation of Afghanistan and then into the "Second Gulf War" with Iraq. While both wars made great progress toward the initial goals, namely the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the Hussein dictatorship in Iraq, as the years went by and the war dragged on, seemingly endlessly, the Islamic groups faced by the United States and her Allies seemed to be wearing down the civilian desire to continue to wage war. What American civilians do not seem to understand is that not only does the multitude of groups have very nearly the same goals, but they are also willing to die for their cause and will be almost impossible to defeat unless they are hunted and destroyed. A study of the Islamic terror groups must include historic examples; Islamic extremism is not a recent development, nor has the ideology of the extremist believers changed much since the Islamic Conquests began in the 7th Century. In F.M. Mickolus' work International Terrorism in the 1980's, Mickolus wrote that since 1968 alone two-thirds of the known incidents of terrorism in the world had occurred in...
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