As China’s increasing assertiveness in the Middle East stands in stark contrast with the U.S. fading footprint, this article is attempting to examine the whole situation based on Beijing’s perspective. Specifically, it indicates that China’s strategies in achieving its interests revolve around four main tenets: partnerships with individual countries, non-interference, continuous increase of its economic footprint, and avoidance of a direct challenge to the U.S.-led security architecture. However, Beijing’s approach deems to be unsustainable in the long term since a deeper economic engagement will be translated into political entanglements, inevitably leading to further military involvement.
Read MoreDeterring State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks: Intelligence and the Lessons of Counterterrorism
From the earliest conceptual and theoretical work on cyber conflict, the problem of attribution, or “the return address problem,” has loomed large, undermining efforts to construct a credible deterrent against cyber attacks. The United States Department of Defense (DoD), in a 2011 policy report, recognized as much and identified the development of advanced forensics capabilities as a key component of national cyber strategy.
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