Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Glen Segell

Supplementing Gunboat Diplomacy against Iran

Glen Segell — Sun, 12 May 2013 01:55:42 +0000

It was in the Spring of 2013 that 41 countries dispatched 35 ships, 18 unmanned underwater vehicles and more than 100 Explosive Ordinance Disposal divers to the Arabian / Persian Gulf. Ostensibly The International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX) 13 would last from 6 until May 30; amid growing tensions over Iranian nuclear intentions; it was [...]

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Monologue or dialog?

Glen Segell — Sun, 05 May 2013 06:42:35 +0000

The last week has seen a surge of Middle East news; much of which has been ignored; because the world coexists in a monologue and not a dialog. The news is that Syria has outwitted sanctions and bought computers in Dubai, Google recognizes Palestine, Prime Minister Netanyahu backs a referendum on any peace deal, Israel [...]

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All options on the table

Glen Segell — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:55:51 +0000

I went to work last Tuesday, and found that the parking lot was occupied by a large marquis; the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) was holding its annual conference. The world now knows about the revelations of the Sarin in Syria and the Torch of Mr. Lapid’s Equity but some might wonder on the pondering at [...]

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Clear and Present Danger

Glen Segell — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:05:25 +0000

Today is the tenth anniversary of my arrival in Iraq to direct the information warfare operation. I feel down-to-earth even down-trodden about Iraq especially after last Saturday’s provincial elections; unlike President Bush who declared “Mission Accomplished” on 1 May 2003 while on a dramatic visit to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The worlds’ eyes [...]

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When it Rains it Pours

Glen Segell — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:55:22 +0000

The mayhem that descended on Boston following the bombing of the marathon left a world gawking in shock and disbelief. The images captured and transmitted over TV and the Internet left nothing to the imagination as to the effects of an act of terror. However images cannot capture the attempted assignation of US Senator Roger [...]

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Shoot a bullet with a bullet

Glen Segell — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 07:16:14 +0000

The success of the Iron Dome in the last Gaza escapade of November 2012 has given hope to fulfill the decade’s long dream of defending against the indefensible; the dream of the gun-slicker in the Wild West to be able to shoot a bullet with a bullet. However there is still a long path to [...]

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Staying the Course

Glen Segell — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:34:04 +0000

The world’s attention is fixated on North Korea; complacent of Syria; and only vaguely cognizant of Libya that teeters perilously on the brink of anarchy. Israel heeds these cases as they offer insight to the future. Israel sees North Korea and thinks Iran; contemplates Syria with an eye on Jordan; and notes the worlds self-righteous [...]

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Déjà Vu Iran

Glen Segell — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 07:22:22 +0000

Once again two days of talks between Iran and the P5+1 world powers have ended without agreement. It is clear that the positions remain far apart on the substance. No time or place for the next talks have yet been agreed. This is not surprising as the strategy of coercive diplomacy is not an overtly [...]

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Israel and the Foreign Forces

Glen Segell — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:53:06 +0000

It would be natural to assume that the United States would be the focus of such a title. However, the United Nations Blue Berets is the germane topic given the deteriorating situation in Syria, Sinai and Lebanon. Somewhere at the back of our minds we have heard of United Nations forces in these areas. Hardly [...]

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Two Years on the Road to Damascus

Glen Segell — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:41:45 +0000

What will the President accomplish on his visit has been on the lips of Israeli’s for weeks while on the lips of Syrians has been the question; What will ensue when the President leaves; especially with the ingress of the jihadists. It is essential not to bamboozle the requisite of Assad’s regime termination with the [...]

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Terminate Terror

Glen Segell — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 06:13:56 +0000

Violence is physical and terror is psychological. The experience of adversarial violence against Israel has abated in part because of the success of Israel’s security forces in defense, deterrence and dissuasion. The experience of adversarial violence against Israel has subsided in part because the adversary has sought non-physical means to attack such as cyber. The [...]

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Intelligence is the Solution, General Gantz.

Glen Segell — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:51:48 +0000

Earlier this week I sat in a large audience attentive to Lt. General Benny Gantz, Chief of the IDF General Staff. It was not what he said but what he didn’t say that irks me. He spoke of military force, politics and of Israel’s security quagmires. He didn’t speak of understanding the context of the action before understanding the [...]

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Iran and the Nuclear Suppliers

Glen Segell — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 05:34:47 +0000

Confusion reigns when contemplating the Iranian nuclear issue. President Obama tells us that all options are on the table led by diplomacy. On the other hand one option has clearly been avoided. There has been no attempt to stop the global nuclear suppliers who continue unabated to supply Iran. Unless the nuclear suppliers are held [...]

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The Significance of Egyptian Civil-Military Relations for Israel.

Glen Segell — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 19:28:59 +0000

The approaching Pesach recalls that Israel was intractably linked to domestic Egyptian politics until divine intervention. Thousands of years later Egyptian domestic politics continues to impact on Israeli’s national security. This once relied upon Israel-Egypt diplomatic and military relations; but now it depends more on vacillating Egyptian civil-military relations. Hello – Goodbye – Hello In August 2012 [...]

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The Arab Spring that Wasn’t aka Peace in our Time with the Palestinians.

Glen Segell — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:40:59 +0000

The Israel government and hence the domestic press that quotes it have remained stoically silent about the Arab Spring. The events have been presented to the Israeli population through the eyes of the foreign media. A survey of the current status in these countries is needed; as the Arab Spring has failed because they lack [...]

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