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Issues, Historical Background, Bibliography
The Western media, in particular, has cast Iran variously as an outlaw country or an outcast but seldom as a normal country, as least since the demise of the Shah or Iran. The United States doesn't cotton to countries falling out of its sphere of influence, particularly if they happen to possess substantial oil reserves, as Iran does, and contain important listening posts on Russia. Add to that a fundamentalist Muslim regime, and the result is an outlaw or outcast label. Yet, could Iran perhaps represent the wave of the future for Muslim countries? Does the label itself tell more about the labellers than about Iran? This book presents papers which present facets of Iran's political activities which might not normally reach Western readers.
Both high import payments for petroleum motor fuels and concerns regarding emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are motivating interest in possible fuel substitutes. Petroleum products derived from conventional crude oil constitute more than 50 percent of end-use energy deliveries in the United States and more than 95 percent of all energy used in the U.S. transportation sector. Almost 60 percent of liquid fuels are imported. Emissions from the consumption of petroleum account for 44 percent of the nation?s CO2 emissions, with approximately 33 percent of national CO2 emissions resulting from transportation-fuel use. In this report, RAND researchers assess the potential future production levels, production costs, greenhouse gases, and other environmental implications of synthetic crude oil extracted from oil sands and fuels produced via coal liquefaction relative to conventional petroleum-based transportation fuels. The findings indicate the potential cost-competitiveness of these alternative fuels and the potential trade-offs that their deployment requires between economic and environmental considerations.
Due to political realities, America seems about to take steps to leave Iraq within 1 or 2 years in large numbers -- an outward surge. Yet because of the geopolitical significance of the region, vast oil reserves and the rampant terrorist activities -- wholesale retreat will not be easy and perhaps not even desirable. This book brings together important analyses dealing with the current status in Iraq as well as projecting a post-war Iraq.
This book focuses on the notion of legitimacy to explain the success (or failure) of stability operations in the post-Cold War era. The author argues that the intervening force must create an enduring sense of the legitimacy of its mission among various parties such as the people of the host nation, the host government, political elites and the general public worldwide, and states in the international community that will determine and establish conditions regarding legitimate intervention.
Argues that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard poses a danger to the economy and well-being of the United States, citing its previous operations in the Middle East and Asia.
Terrorism: Commentary on Security Documents is a series that provides primary source documents and expert commentary on various topics relating to the worldwide effort to combat terrorism, as well as efforts by the United States and other nations to protect their national security interests. Volume 143, The Evolution of the Islamic State, focuses on the U.S. response to the Islamic State (IS) both in Syria and Iraq from a foreign policy standpoint and a military strategy perspective, as well as considering the impact of the rise of IS on the broader global jihadist movement. Consideration is also given to the importance of information warfare in countering IS's worldwide recruiting efforts via the Internet. This volume also includes documents examining related issues of great importance, including a report considering IS's financing, a report on the legal issues arising in connection with U.S. military action against IS, the role of Shia warlords and militias in Iraq in opposing IS, and the lessons that can be learned from the support provided to IS by European fighters.