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ENTERRANS AMONG THE KURDS

Steve DeAngelis of ERMB has journeyed to the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq a second time on Enterra business. He’s had several posts reflecting on his experiences working in ” the other Iraq” or about the Mideast in general.

Probing the Edges of Globalization

Lessons from the Edge of Globalization: Part 2, Day 1

Labor Reform in the Middle East ( Dubai focus)

Islamic Finance

Kurdistan’s clan-based rulers and Peshmerga leaders have been exceptionally deft players in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq, managing to have excellent relations with the United States, Iran and ( allegedly on the quiet) Israel. Quite a neat trifecta. Only Turkey remains a serious problem, deeply fearful of Kurdish revanchism, PKK terrorism and having assumed the role of protector of the Turcoman minority in Iraq ( ironically, reprising the posture that imperial Russia once assumed toward Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire that the Sublime Porte found so offensive).

To be a state or not to be a state, a choice the Kurds must make. One of the few things most countries can agree on is that international borders are no longer up for grabs via the use of force – Europe’s peace was built on the permanence of German borders and the Europeans are not going to reopen that topic, even in principle. The road to sovereignty, independence and NATO membership for Kurdistan runs only through Ankara but it requires strategic choices not seen in Mesopotamia since 1919.

BUILDING RESILIENCE AGAINST ANNIHILATION FROM WITHIN

Steve DeAngelis, who is the CEO of EnterraSolutions as well as a blogger, took a large step toward building greater systemic resilience against the dangers of WMD that form the crux of the threats detailed in Charles Ikle’s Annihilation From Within. Enterra, IATGR and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are forming a more closely connected network to become:

“… a center of gravity for Enterprise Resilience Management and provide the venue for leading chemical, nuclear, biological and information technologists, political scientists and business people to join together to explore approaches to critical issues facing the world.”

Steve has mapped out the functions of a SensorNet and ResilienceNet integration in a color graphic that makes the intent of the integrated system clear to try and bring first warning about biological, nuclear, chemical and cyber threats as close as possible to real-time reaction and policy response. My thoughts:

*An effort that is critically important and long overdue, five years after 9/11.

*This mirrors the emerging trend in the larger intelligence and national security communities toward creating “fusion” centers but would broaden beyond collection and analysis to connecting all the different ” players” and shape their response.

* I’m wondering if the proposed ResilienceNet would resemble an “all channel” network in its effect in dissemination of information or a modular structure.

Congratulations to Steve and Shane at IATGR for taking resilience to a new level !

LINKS:

Critt has more information at ConversationBase.