Counterinsurgency
Abstract: The Vietnam War is commonly known as an unsuccessful counterinsurgency campaign. The history of the war however contains many interesting programs and theoretical programs, one major problem of which is the subject of the current article. As President Nixon decided to drastically reduce the scope of US involvement in the war, counterinsurgency programs had to be rethought and transferred to the South Vietnamese. This article aims to show the theoretical and practical problems of such transfers. The article consists of two main parts. In the first part, the reader will be introduced to the so-called Viet Cong Infrastructure (VCI), which was the shadow government structure, that gave the “invisible” backbone to the insurgency in the South. The second part will cover the establishment of the Phoenix Program, which had a parallel program in South Vietnam called Phung Hoang. These programs by their concept were intended to promote cooperation between various agencies, all of them had its role to play in the counterinsurgency effort, or as it was called back then, in the pacification. The author will use the term “pacification” in the article, as this was the term for the functions exercised by the organizations mentioned in this article at the time of the war. The Phoenix and Phung Hoang programs have important lessons for today’s operational environment. It required cooperation between the many agencies of two nations against a determined enemy, which had outside support. Although other interesting initiatives took also place in the realm of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism during the Vietnam War, the current article will focus on the Phoenix and Phung Hoang programs. The article will try to give a picture about the functions, successes and shortcomings, and the legacy of the Phoenix and Phung Hoang programs.
The Ahmed H. Case
Abstract: Terrorist acts are one of the most dangerous criminal offenses. Their protected legal interest is the public interest with regard to the forceless and uninterrupted operation of states, governmental agencies, furthermore the population’s uninterrupted, calm way of life that is free of fear.
The Romanian Securitate
Abstract: According to Ernest Volkman, a reputed investigator of the secret service world, the attempt by historians to understand the role of these institutions and the information they have acquired in the course of world events "resembles much the opening of a path through an impassable, dark, mysterious, paradox, contradictory facts, absent or "purified" records, convenient, secret memories, "plausible denial" and, occasionally, open lies, without mentioning misinformation and misleading"3. In the case of studying an institution which, in the service of the communist regime, combines specific activities with secret services everywhere with the activities characteristic of political police, a number of other impediments must be added to the difficulties summarized by the author.
US-Russian Opposition
Abstract: The article - dealing with US-Russian opposition in military conflicts - explores three main topics. In the first chapter we are witnessing a rapidly changing world order that is increasingly multipolar and unstable: the West is declining and the East is rising. It deeply affects US-Russian opposition, since it is part of the bigger picture. In the second chapter there is an analysis of the distortions of the Western threat perception, where even Western support of jihadist terrorists is acceptable to achieve geopolitical goals. Western and proxy involvement in support of international jihadist terrorism, especially ISIS, Al-Qaida etc. reveals who Russia truly fights in Syria, Lybia etc. In the last chapter there is an overview of some specific military conflicts, where US-Russian opposition exists.