Papers by Faruk Rahmanovic
Humanitarian Military Intervention: A Failed Paradigm
The purpose of this analysis was to discover the extent to which dictates of war theory ideals ca... more The purpose of this analysis was to discover the extent to which dictates of war theory ideals can be considered universal, by comparing the Western (European), Classical Chinese, and Islamic models. It also examined the contextual elements that drove war theory development within each civilization, and the impact of such elements on the differences arising in war theory comparison. These theories were chosen for their differences in major contextual elements, in order to limit the impact of contextual similarities on the war theories. The results revealed a great degree of similarities in the conception of warfare as a social tool of the state, utilized as a sometimes necessary, albeit tragic, means of establishing peace justice and harmony. What differences did arise, were relatively minor, and came primarily from the differing conceptions of morality and justice within each civilization-thus indicating a great degree of universality to the conception of warfare.
Using history, philosophy, psychology, and religion, this brief analysis considers the purpose be... more Using history, philosophy, psychology, and religion, this brief analysis considers the purpose behind metaphysics and its role in providing a basis for developing coherent interpretations of the world. Rather than delve into the history of the subject, this analysis is focused on metaphysics itself, and the most succinct and direct presentation of its purpose, methods, and layout.
In the second section, we suggest that metaphysics can be offered in a simple visual form, properly identifying, locating, and relating all the relevant features of any system. This visualization is named Structura Principales - primary structure.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 13: Using Spies. In chapter 13, Sun Tzu closes his text by turning to the source of the intelligence and information in war - the single most important factor stressed throughout the rest of the text.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 12: incendiary Attack. In chapter 12, Sun Tzu's focus on the use of fire carries a host of functional interpretations - not least of which is the idea of fire as a metaphor for a self-directed and highly destructive force of nature that can be brought to life by our efforts. As an example, we consider the DNC email dump as a type of incendiary attack.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 11: The Nine Kinds of Terrain. In chapter 11, the core ideas of the previous continue, with a focus on the kinds of designs (general strategies) a good commander should aim at.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 10: The Terrain. In chapter 10, considerations superficially focus on he terrain - as the chapter name implies. However, the true focus is not the terrain itself, but on the necessary actions of a good commander to properly know about and deal with that terrain. That is the focus of the present analysis.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 9: Deploying the Army. In chapter 9, the considerations center on cultivating the appropriate in-house relations that allow for security, that allow for the "deployment" of troops - so to speak.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 8: Adapting to the Nine Contingencies. In chapter 8, Sun Tzu considers universal types of preparation for dealing with threats. This chapter, perhaps more than any other, is a clear indicator of the vast differences between the Eastern and Western military paradigms.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 7: Armed Contest. In chapter 6, Sun Tzu considers the psychological and practical issues of engagement.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 6: Strong Points and Weak Points. In chapter 6, Sun Tzu considers what it means to leverage intelligence, and how to do it.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 5: Strategic Advantage. In chapter 5, Sun Tzu considers how Strategic Advantage (shih) is attained through leveraging information by proper knowledge.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 4: Strategic Dispositions. In chapter 4, Sun Tzu advises that we should first make ourselves invincible, and then await enemy vulnerability. Does this idea work in the realm of Cyber Security?
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 3: Strategic Positions. This chapter provides some of the most quotable lines of the Art of War, though they’re seldom fully understood.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. In the following pages, we consider Chapter 2: On Waging War - where Sunzi offers his famous prescription for a swift victory, and outlines key components that make a quick victory possible.
Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Informatio... more Can Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" contribute anything meaningful to modern Cyber-Security/Information security and Cyber Threat Intelligence? Perhaps so. The modern classification of information security as a theater of war does appear accurate, however, the medium is so entirely out of joint with anything resembling traditional warfare, that the traditional ways of considering the issue is simply non-functional. The absolute asymmetry of the field, inability to use deterrent strategies, and the virtual impossibility of identifying the attacker means that all the traditional approach vectors offer little - if anything.
However, the Sun Tzu classic assumes precisely these conditions when it approaches the question of war. Therefore, it stands a greater chance to substantively informing the debate.
In the following pages, we consider the first chapter of the Art of War, and how it can be adapted to the cyber-security and cyber threat intelligence way of thinking.
As Deep Mind prepares to retire AlphaGo from professional play, a mere 14 months after its releas... more As Deep Mind prepares to retire AlphaGo from professional play, a mere 14 months after its release, the implications for militarized AI are staggering. Following up on "The Military Implications of AlphaGo," the present analysis explores how the progress of AlphaGo, as well as development of commercial drones and changes in international relations, over the past 14 months, is likely to reshape the role militarized AI.
The aim of this analysis is to demonstrate the ineffability in translation. The claim is not that... more The aim of this analysis is to demonstrate the ineffability in translation. The claim is not that all translation is impossible, or that translation is impossible to/from some particular language. It may be possible to translate fragments – i.e. particular aspects of a text – or even to translate every pertinent aspect of a text independently. Rather, the ineffability of translation comes in the attempt to capture the whole; the style, the content, the relationality of judiciously selected terminology - especially when the language of translation is not closely related to the original. This analysis surveys three languages (Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese) and presents the ineffability in 2 examples of each language.
With the March 2016 victory over Lee Sedol, AlphaGo accomplished the "impossible." However, the v... more With the March 2016 victory over Lee Sedol, AlphaGo accomplished the "impossible." However, the victory of machine over man raises serious ethical and methodological implications for the use of similar neural networks for warfare. The following analysis examines the structure of such networks and ways in which they could be integrated into the military systems - especially in light of increasing reliance on drones, as well as the use of metadata in justifying military engagements
Warfare has generally been considered through the lens of morality, of pragmatic state policy, an... more Warfare has generally been considered through the lens of morality, of pragmatic state policy, and strategic art of warfare-individually or combined. What has often been neglected is the aspect of games, or rather war games, as reflection of the attitudes on warfare of a given society. War games embody the crucial principles of social and military attitudes towards conflict and conflict resolution. Additionally, they allow for the socially correct development of mental attitudes, competency, and even mastery of the subject, without exposing the players (or the state) to the very real dangers of the battlefield. While some research on the connection between Chess and war strategy has been introduced, Chess provides a poor example, since it is limited in scope by presupposing a state of a zero-sum total war. What such analyses fail to capture is the reason for war; the larger purpose for military engagement, or what the resolution of the conflict should be. Furthermore, Chess becomes of limited use in an examination of particular social and military attitudes toward warfare, given its extensive propagation beyond its unknown origins. The Chinese game of Wei-qi (also known as go/igo or baduk in Japanese and Korean, respectively), on the other hand, seems geared specifically for such analysis. First, it is known to have been invented and developed in China. Second, Wei-qi concerns itself with the establishment of viable and sustainable states; meaning that the game methodology is fully cognizant of war as an interstate activity. Third, and most important, the approach to conflict in Wei-qi resembles that of the classical Chinese theories (both politico-philosophical as well as military), and as such demands the consideration of all warfare elements-including the proper reasoning and justification for engagement, war strategy, and the full range of consequences any military engagement brings. What is crucial to this analysis is not only that such resemblance is present to the extent that it clearly implicates Wei-qi as a vehicle of mastering these elements.
Uploads
Papers by Faruk Rahmanovic
In the second section, we suggest that metaphysics can be offered in a simple visual form, properly identifying, locating, and relating all the relevant features of any system. This visualization is named Structura Principales - primary structure.
However, the Sun Tzu classic assumes precisely these conditions when it approaches the question of war. Therefore, it stands a greater chance to substantively informing the debate.
In the following pages, we consider the first chapter of the Art of War, and how it can be adapted to the cyber-security and cyber threat intelligence way of thinking.