Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. / Alternate Military Strategy for the War on Terrorism calls for addressing the war as a global insurgency. Addressing the war on terrorism as a Global Insurgency provides an alternative strategic framework for prosecuting the campaign. This study is intended to determine the utility of analyzing the war on terrorism using an insurgency/counterinsurgency conceptual framework. Additionally, the recommendations can be applied to the strategic campaign, even if it is politically unfeasible to address the war as an insurgency. The study is broken down into five chapters: an introduction, explanation of Dr. McCormick’s Counterinsurgency model used for analysis, application of the model to a historical case, application to the war on terrorism, and conclusions. The first half of the study is intended to provide a thorough understanding of Dr. McCormick’s model. This is done by, first providing an overview of the model and, second, applying the model to a historical case: the insurgency in Lebanon following the Israeli invasion in 1982. The second half of the study addresses the current U.S. lead war on terrorism. The counterinsurgency model is applied to the war on terrorism based on the al Qaeda Network and the United States’ vision and mission for the conflict. Ten on terrorism are drawn from the analysis. The final chapter addresses the utility provided by the insurgency/counterinsurgency framework as applied to the war on terrorism. / Major, United States Army

Le présent travail concerne l'étude du décollement de coin de compresseurs par des investigations expérimentaux sur le banc d'essai subsonique grille d'aubes situé au LMFA (Re = 3.8 x 105, M = 0,12, profil NACA 65-009). Habituellement, cette particulière séparation tridimensionnelle a lieu dans le coin entre l'aubage et la paroi du moyeu des rangées d'aubes, également dans les stators et les rotors.Les performances de l’étage sont ainsi dégradées à cause des pertes de charge et du blocage conséquent à la séparation de l’écoulement. Bien que les caractéristiques stationnaires sont bien connues par la littérature, uniquement des récentes études expérimentales avancées combinées aux améliorations de simulations numériques, telles que URANS et LES, ont permis de découvrir le comportement très instable du décollement de coin. Des études préalables sur le même banc d'essai ont rapporté un comportement intermittent du décollement, appelé comportement bimodal. Dans la présente thèse de doctorat, il est montré que le comportement bimodal correspond à deux états spécifiques du champ fluide: une séparation fermée, presque supprimée, et une séparation ouverte caractérisée par un blocage massif. Il est clair que cette commutation bimodale du décollement de coin apparaissant dans une machine réelle pourrait avoir un impact fortement déstabilisant. En utilisant la méthode de mesure PIV haute vitesse couplée à des mesures de pression résolues en temps sur la surface de l'aubage, l'écoulement d'un canal inter-aube a été étudié pour deux différentes incidences. Les mesures PIV fournissent pour la première fois des visualisations résolues en temps et étendues à toute la section de l'aubage de la variation bimodale du décollement. L'interaction des grandes structures aléatoires de la couche limite à l'amont avec le bord d'attaque de l'aubage déstabilise le front du décollement et agrandit la région de recirculation. Une séparation ainsi massive persiste jusqu'à ce que le blocage dans le canal inter-aube provoque la rupture des plus grandes structures constituant la zone de recirculation. Successivement le débit recommence à accélérer et la séparation est presque supprimée. Cette dynamique coïncide avec le régime d'écoulement hautement instationnaire et apériodique des diffuseurs, appelé large transitory stall, caractérisé par des grandes amplitudes d'énergie dans la gamme des basses fréquences du spectre. Des moyennes conditionnelles de pression et la décomposition orthogonale modale (POD) des champs de vitesse ont été appliquées pour montrer l'effet rétroactif du blocage induit par la séparation ouverte sur l'angle local au bord d'attaque. Ces résultats supportent l’hypothèse d'une instabilité auto-entretenue causée par la diffusion imposée dans le stator. En fin, des mesures de pression totale résolues en temps ont été effectuées en utilisant des capteurs à haute réponse en fréquence, situés à la même position dans les différents canaux adjacents. La cohérence et la linéarité de l'angle de phase trouvée entre les capteurs confirment que l'instabilité du décollement peut se propager d'un canal a l'autre, en analogie avec les perturbations tournantes (rotating instabilities) apparaissant dans les bancs d'essai annulaires. Ceci montre pour la première fois que, même dans une grille d'aubes linéaire de compresseur, l'instabilité intrinsèque du décollement de coin peut déclencher la propagation d'instabilités. / The present work focuses on the study of the corner separation phenomenon in compressors carried out by experimental investigations on a subsonic linear cascade test rig (Re=3.8x105, M=0.12, blade profile NACA 65-009). Usually, this particular three-dimensional separation takes place in the corner between the blade and the endwall of compressor rows, mostly at hub, both in stators and rotors.Its main features are high total pressure losses and blockage of the flow, with consequent impacts on the efficiency. Whereas time averaged characteristics are well known from the past, only recent advanced experimental studies and improvements of numerical simulations, such as URANS and LES, have permitted to uncover the highly unsteady behavior of corner separation in compressors. Precedent studies on the same test rig have reported an intermittent unsteady behavior of corner separation, called bimodal behavior. In the present thesis it is shown that the bimodal behavior corresponds to two specific states of the flow: a closed separation, almost suppressed, and an open separation characterized by massive blockage and losses. Clearly hub-separation bimodal switches appearing in a real machine could have a first order detrimental effect on the stability of the flow in the compressor. By using high speed PIV coupled with unsteady pressure measurements on the surface of the blade the flow in a single blade passage has been investigated for different incidences. The PIV measurements provide, for the first time, time-resolved flow visualizations of the size switch of the separation with an extended field of view covering the entire blade section. The interaction of random large structures of the incoming boundary layer with the blade is found to be a predominant element that destabilizes the separation boundary and enlarges the recirculation region. Such a massive separation persists until the blockage in the passage causes the breakdown of the largest structures in the aft part of the blade, reestablishing the closed separation state. Such dynamics coincide with the aperiodic intermittent flow regime of diffusers, called transitory stall regime, and the associated Fourier spectra show the largest energy amplitudes in the low frequency range. Conditional ensemble averages of pressure and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of velocity fields have been applied to show the feedback effect of the blockage of the separation on the flow angle around the blade leading edge. These results draw the picture of a self-sustained instability caused by the diffusion imposed by the inter-blade passage. To answer the question about the interaction between adjacent corner separations, time-resolved total pressure measurements have been carried out by using high frequency response sensors positioned in bimodal points of multiple passages. The coherent propagation velocity and the linearity of the phase angle found between the signals confirm that the unsteadiness of the separation can propagate in pitch-wise direction. It is interesting to underline that equivalent elements characterize rotating disturbances appearing in annular test rigs. This finally shows that, even in an isolated stator blade row, the intrinsic unsteadiness of corner separation can start the propagation of instabilities. It is the first time that such a propagation effect is observed in a linear compressor cascade.

The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of small monetary or economic gains and/or losses on choice behavior through the use of a computerized game and to determine gain/loss ratio differences using both behavioral and electrophysiological measures. Participants (N=53) played the game in several 36 minute sessions. These sessions operated with concurrent variable-interval schedules for both rewards and penalties. Previously, asymmetrical effects of gains and losses have been identified through cognitive studies, primarily due to the work of nobel laureates Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (1979). They found that the effect of a loss is twice (i.e., 2:1) that of a gain. Similar results have been observed in the behavioral laboratory as exemplified by the research of Rasmussen and Newland (2008), who found a 3:1 ratio for the effect of losses versus gains. The asymmetry of gains and losses was estimated behaviorally and through event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and the cognitive (Kahneman and Tversky) and behavioral (Rasmussen and Newland) discrepancy elucidated. In the game, the player moves an animated submarine around sea rocks to collect yellow coins and other treasures on the sea floor. Upon collecting a coin, one of three things can happen: The player triggers a penalty (loss), the player triggers a payoff (gain), or there is no change. The behavioral measures consisted in counting the number of clicks, reinforces, and punishers and then determining ratio differences between punished (loss) and no punished condition (gain) conditions. The obtained gain/loss ratio corresponded to an asymmetry of 2:1. Similarly ratio differences were found between male and female, virtual money and cash, risk averse versus risk seeking, and generosity versus profit behavior. Also, no ratio difference was found when players receive information about other player's performances in the game (players with information versus players without information). In electroencephalographic (EEG) studies, visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and ERPs components (e.g., P300) were examined. I found increased ERP amplitudes for the losses in relation to the gains that corresponded to the calculated behavioral asymmetry of 2:1. A correlational strategy was adopted that sought to identify neural correlates of choice consistent with cognitive and behavioral approaches. In addition, electro cortical ratio differences were observed between different sets of electrodes that corresponded to the front, middle, and back sections of the brain; differences between sessions, risk averse and risk seeking behavior and sessions with concurrent visual and auditory stimuli and only visual were also estimated.

Une monographie sur la ville antique de Sura s’imposait pour mettre l’accent sur un site-clef, peu étudié, parmi les villes fortifiées du Moyen-Euphrate. L’objectif de ce travail est d’en offrir une description et une analyse poussées et d’élargir le champ des recherches à l’ensemble de la région. À 22 km à l’ouest de Raqqa et à 29 km au nord de Resafa, à l’emplacement du village moderne d’«el-Hammam», Sura (autrefois «Souriya») domine la rive droite de l’Euphrate. Le site est une agglomération fortifiée de forme rectangulaire (76,5 ha) divisée en deux parties, enceinte nord-est et enceinte sud-ouest. Nous présentons Sura de l’époque romaine jusqu’au début de l’époque omeyyade (Ier-VIIIe s.), d’après les résultats de nos recherches qui, entre 2003 et 2011, se sont concentrées sur trois pôles : fortifications, structures domestiques et édifices civils (fouilles intra-muros), nécropole(fouilles extra-muros). Nous étudions ensuite sa culture matérielle à travers le mobilier archéologique et les éléments architecturaux issus des fouilles. Les résultats de ces recherches doivent enrichir le dossier des sites de référence de l’Antiquité tardive pour la région de l’Euphrate et de la Syrie du Nord, en offrant une base de comparaison de premier ordre pour l’architecture civile et funéraire et, surtout, pour le matériel céramique, le verre, les inscriptions. Occupant une position géographique stratégique, Sura fut florissante pendant l’époque romaine et byzantine, jusqu’à la conquête arabe de la région en 639-640, qui scella son déclin – contrairement aux autres villes de l’Euphrate –, puis elle ne fut plus occupée que par des chrétiens locaux, dans des habitats modestes. / A monograph about the ancient city of Sura was necessary in order to bring to light a site little studied so far, in spite of its key importance among the Middle Euphrates fortified towns. The present work aims at offering a thorough description and analysis of it, while broadening the scope of comparison to its larger region. Sura(previously “Suriya”) is situated 22 km west of Raqqa and 29 km north of Resafa, on the location where nowadays stands the village of “el-Hammam”, overlooking the right bank of the river Euphrates. The site, a fortified agglomeration of rectangular shape (76,5 ha), is divided into two parts, the northeast and the southwest enclosures. We present Sura from Roman times until the beginning of the Umayyad period (1st-8th cent.), through the results of our researches, which, from 2003 to 2011, have been focusing, intra-muros, on its fortifications, on its domestic and public structures, and, extra-muros, on its necropolis, then through its material culture, that is, thesmall finds and architectural elements. Such a research should contribute to enhancing the extant knowledge about Late Antiquity in the Euphrates region and North Syria, by bringing forth an additional reference site, especially for civil and funerary architecture and, above all, pottery, glass, and inscriptions. The floruit of Sura, set in a strategic location, lasted from the Roman through Byzantine times, until the Arab conquest of the region, in 639-640, threw it into oblivion – a fate not shared by other cities on the Euphrates. Afterwards, only local Christians maintained some modest settlement there.

Les films librement suspendus de cristal liquide 8CB en phase smectique A sont très stables du fait de leur structure lamellaire. En effet, l'élasticité des couches compense la pression capillaire imposée par le ménisque qui le borde et qui joue le rôle de réservoir de matière. Lors de ce travail, nous nous sommes intéressés à la dynamique de ces films. Nous avons mis en évidence que le ménisque se comporte<br />comme un réservoir dissipatif.<br /><br />En régime quasi-statique, lorsque les échanges de matière entre le film et le ménisque sont lents, les écoulements de perméation autour des dislocations coin qui le composent sont à l'origine de sa perméabilité finie. Un modèle hydrodynamique montre que la dissipation est localisée à son entrée, dans la zone bien orientée et qu'elle dépend fortement de l'épaisseur du film. Dans les films fins, le ralentissement des boucles de dislocation et dans les films épais, la dynamique de relaxation de deux ménisques reliés par un même film ont permis de confirmer expérimentalement ce modèle.<br /><br />La dynamique d'effondrement d'une bulle a permis de caractériser la dissipation dans des régimes d'écoulements plus rapides en mettant en évidence un écart à la loi de Laplace (statique). Les expériences montrent qu'après une étape conduisant à la déstructuration du ménisque, ce qui le rend plus perméable, la bulle peut s'effondrer, la matière s'engouffrant dans le ménisque avec un comportement rhéofluidifiant. De plus, la nucléation et la croissance d'îlots peut rendre le processus moins dissipatif, ce qui est essentiellement observé dans les films fins.

<p>This study examines how the Roman emperors <i>c</i>. AD. 260–295 attempt at maintaining their power-bases through legitimation of their claims to power, with reference to various potentially powerful groups of society, such as the military, the inhabitants of the provinces and the senate in Rome. The purpose has been to discern the development of ‘Roman imperial ideology’ in an age which has frequently been referred to as an ‘age of military anarchy.’ Focus is on how claims to power could be expressed through visual media. Of such media, mainly the coins struck for the emperors <i>c</i>. AD 260-295 have been studied. A close investigation has been made of the iconography of these coins. Furthermore, the ways in which coin-images are modified and combined with various legends are studied. An additional purpose of this investigation has been to provide a comment on the general potential of conveying visual imagery and messages on objects such as coins and medallions. </p><p>The study argues that novel, intricate and multi-layered images were created on the coins struck for the emperors <i>c</i>. AD 260-295. Furthermore, it is suggested that these coin-images were created to assume the function of larger-scale expressions of imperial authority, such as triumphal arches and imperial statues. This adaption of coinage was made because there was a need for intensified communication of imperial authority. This need arose due to the incessant warfare of the age, and a process of regionalization of the empire, which was connected to this warfare. The conclusion is that these coins provide an illustration of the development of the Roman empire in the second half of the third century. This was a development by which the city of Rome lost its importance in favour of regional capitals, and ultimately in favour of Constantinople.</p>

En aquesta memòria es presenten diversos treballs relacionats amb la utilització dels sensor de flux òptic de baix cost pel desenvolupament de nous sistemes de mesura compactes i de molt baix cost. Les aplicacions plantejades permeten aprofitar tot el potencial industrial d’aquest tipus de sensors. Els sensors de flux òptic tenen la peculiaritat d’incorporar dins d’un únic encapsulat un sistema d’adquisició d’imatges i un processador digital preprogramat per a realitzar el còmput de flux òptic (optical flow) de la imatge. D’aquesta manera, aquest tipus de sensors no requereixen cap sistema processador addicional i, en alguns casos, poden funcionar sense cap altre element addicional de control. Actualment, l’èxit dels sensors de flux òptic ha facilitat la seva producció industrial massiva amb costos de fabricació molt baixos el que ha incentivat el desenvolupament de noves aplicacions en camps tan diversos com la robòtica on el cost és un element fonamental en les aplicacions destinades a un mercat de consum. En aquesta memòria es presenta, per una banda, l’anàlisi de l’estat de l’art dels sensors de flux òptic i les seves aplicacions, i per l’altra, el treball de recerca realitzat sobre l’ús d’aquest sensor per a desenvolupar un codificador rotatiu incremental, un codificador absolut, un sistema de detecció de monedes falses de 2 euros, i per a realitzar el seguiment de la pupil•la de l’ull d’una persona amb discapacitat. Els resultats obtinguts a partir de les proves experimentals realitzades amb els diferents sensors de flux òptics utilitzats als dispositius proposats han permès validar les propostes realitzades i la versatilitat del disseny del sensor. / En esta memoria se presentan diversos trabajos de investigación relacionados con la utilización de sensores de flujo óptico de bajo coste para el desarrollo de nuevos sistemas de medida compactos y de muy bajo coste. Las aplicaciones planteadas permiten aprovechar todo el potencial industrial de este tipo de sensores. Los sensores de flujo óptico tienen la particularidad de incorporar dentro de un único encapsulado un sistema de adquisición de imágenes y un procesador digital preprogramado para realizar el cómputo de flujo óptico (optical flow) de la imagen. De esta manera, este tipo de sensores no requieren ningún sistema procesador adicional y, en algunos casos, pueden funcionar sin ningún otro elemento adicional de control. Actualmente, el éxito comercial de los sensores de flujo óptico ha facilitado su producción industrial masiva con costes de fabricación muy bajos lo que ha incentivado el desarrollo de nuevas aplicaciones en campos tan diversos como la robótica donde el coste es un elemento fundamental en las aplicaciones destinadas a un mercado de consumo. En esta memoria se presenta, por un lado, el análisis del estado del arte de los sensores de flujo óptico y sus aplicaciones, y por el otro, el trabajo de investigación realizado sobre la utilización del sensor para el desarrollo de un codificador rotativo incremental, un codificador absoluto, un sistema de detección de monedas falsas de 2 euros y para realizar el seguimiento de la pupila del ojo de una persona con el fin de desarrollar un dispositivo apuntador que pueda ser de utilidad para una persona con discapacidad. Los resultados obtenidos en las pruebas experimentales realizadas con los diferentes sensores de flujo óptico utilizados en los dispositivos propuestos han permitido validar las propuestas realizadas y la versatilidad del diseño del sensor. / This work presents the research performed with optical flow sensors and the proposal of several new compact and low cost applications developed to take full advantage of the industrial potential of these sensors. Optical flow sensors include into the same chip an image acquisition system and a digital signal processor programmed to compute the optical flow of the image acquired. These sensors do not require additional post-processing and can operate without any other additional external control or processing device. Currently, the commercial success of the optical flow sensors has fostered its massive industrial production and has reduced its final cost. This characteristic, combined with the versatility of the design of the sensor, has also fostered the development of a huge range of new applications in different areas, such as robotics, where the cost is a fundamental factor that prone the development and commercialization of new consumer applications. This works presents, in one hand, a review of the state of the art of the research and development related with optical flow sensors and, in the other hand, a set of new applications proposed to take full advantage of the characteristics of the sensor. The new applications proposed are: a relative encoder, an absolute encoder, a counterfeit system for the 2€ case, and an accessibility device that tracks the pupil of the user to control pointer displacement in a computer screen. This device has been designed specifically to help people with mobility impairments in the upper extremities that cannot use the computer mouse. In all cases, the experimental results achieved with the different optical flow sensors used in the new applications proposed have validated the utility and versatility of each proposal and the utility and versatility of the design of this optical sensor.

This study examines how the Roman emperors c. AD. 260–295 attempt at maintaining their power-bases through legitimation of their claims to power, with reference to various potentially powerful groups of society, such as the military, the inhabitants of the provinces and the senate in Rome. The purpose has been to discern the development of ‘Roman imperial ideology’ in an age which has frequently been referred to as an ‘age of military anarchy.’ Focus is on how claims to power could be expressed through visual media. Of such media, mainly the coins struck for the emperors c. AD 260-295 have been studied. A close investigation has been made of the iconography of these coins. Furthermore, the ways in which coin-images are modified and combined with various legends are studied. An additional purpose of this investigation has been to provide a comment on the general potential of conveying visual imagery and messages on objects such as coins and medallions. The study argues that novel, intricate and multi-layered images were created on the coins struck for the emperors c. AD 260-295. Furthermore, it is suggested that these coin-images were created to assume the function of larger-scale expressions of imperial authority, such as triumphal arches and imperial statues. This adaption of coinage was made because there was a need for intensified communication of imperial authority. This need arose due to the incessant warfare of the age, and a process of regionalization of the empire, which was connected to this warfare. The conclusion is that these coins provide an illustration of the development of the Roman empire in the second half of the third century. This was a development by which the city of Rome lost its importance in favour of regional capitals, and ultimately in favour of Constantinople.

The goal of this study is to ascertain how Thailand wages counterinsurgency (COIN). Thailand has waged two successful COINs in the past and is currently waging a third on its southern border. The lessons learned from Thailand’s COIN campaigns could result in modern irregular warfare techniques valuable not only to Thailand and neighboring countries with similar security problems, but also to countries like the United States and the United Kingdom that are currently reshaping their irregular warfare doctrines in response to the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first set of COIN lessons comes from Thailand’s successful 1965-85 communist COIN. The second set comes from Bangkok’s understudied 1980s-90s COIN against southern separatists. The third set comes from Thailand’s current war against ethnic Malay separatists and radical Islamic insurgents attempting to secede and form a separate state called “Patani Raya,” among other names. Counterinsurgency is a difficult type of warfare for four reasons: (1) it can take years to succeed; (2) the battle space is poorly defined; (3) insurgents are not easily identifiable; and (4) war typically takes place among a civilian population that the guerrillas depend on for auxiliary support. Successful COINs include not only precise force application operations based on quality intelligence, but also lasting social and economic programs, political empowerment of the disenfranchised, and government acceptance of previously ignored cultural realities. Background: In 1965, communist insurgents, backed by the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), began waging an insurgency against Thailand in order to overthrow its government and install a Marxist regime. The Thai government struggled, both politically and militarily, to contain the movement for years, but eventually, it prevailed. Its success was based on a combination of effective strategy and coordination, plus well-designed and run security, political, and economic programs, the latter nowadays called the “three pillars of COIN,” a phrase developed by David Kilcullen, a modern COIN theorist and practitioner. One of Bangkok’s most successful initiatives was the CPM program (civil-military-police), which used a linked chain of local forces, police, and the military to not only provide security for villages, but also economic aid and administrative training to rural peoples. State political programs that undercut communist political programs backed by masterful diplomacy and a constant barrage of rural works helped erode the communist position. The 1980s-90s COIN against southern separatists followed similar lines. The far South’s four border provinces, comprised of 80 percent ethnic Malay Muslims, had been in revolt on and off for decades since Bangkok annexed the area in 1902. Bangkok had waged haphazard COIN campaigns against rebel groups there for decades with mixed results. But after the successful communist COIN was up and running in 1980, Bangkok decided to apply similar ways and means to tackle the southern issue. The government divided its COIN operations into two components: a security component run by a task force called CPM-43, and a political-economic component run by the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center, or SB-PAC. SB-PAC also had a Special Branch investigative capacity. Combined, the 80s-90s southern COIN strategy relied on extensive military intelligence networks to curb violence, civilian administrators to execute local political reforms, and local politicians to apply traditional Malay and Muslim problem solving techniques to keep the peace. These programs worked well against the multitude of southern insurgent groups that conducted sporadic attacks against government and civilian targets while also running organized criminal syndicates. By the end of the 1990s, with a dose of Thailand’s famed diplomacy and help from Malaysia’s Special Branch, Bangkok defeated the southern separatists. In January 2004, however, a new separatist movement in southern Thailand emerged – one based on ethnic Malay separatism and radical Islam. It is a well-coordinated movement with effective operational expertise that attacks at a higher tempo than past southern rebel groups. It moreover strikes civilian targets on a regular basis, thereby making it a terrorist group. Overall, it dwarfs past southern movements regarding motivation and scale of violence. Thai officials think the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Coordinate, or BRN-C, leads the current rebellion, but there are several other groups that claim to also lead the fight. Members of the insurgency are nearly exclusively ethnic Malays and Muslims. The movement demonstrates radical Islamic tendencies thought its propaganda, indoctrination, recruitment, and deeds. It is a takfiri group that kills other Muslims who do not share its religious beliefs, so it wrote in its spiritual rebel guidebook, Fight for the Liberation of Patani. BRN-C seeks to separate the four southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla from Thailand in order to establish an Islamic republic. The separatists base their revolt on perceived military, economic, cultural, and religious subjugation going back to the early 1900s. And they have a point. The central government has, at different times in the past, indeed treated southerners with tremendous disdain and sometimes violence – especially those considered insurgents. But Bangkok has also instituted scores of economic and social aid programs in the south – mosque building, college scholarships, and medical aid, for example – so it has not been a continual anti-Muslim “blood fest” as government detractors have painted it. Still the maltreatment, certainly many times less than yesteryear, has provided today’s insurgents with ideological fodder for a steady stream of recruits and supporters. Combined with radical Islam, it has bonded the insurgents to a significant degree. Statistically, in the 2005-07-time frame, insurgents assassinated 1.09 people a day, detonated 18.8 bombs a month, and staged 12.8 arson attacks a month. In 2005, they conducted 43 raids and 45 ambushes. The militants target security forces, government civilians, and the local population. They have killed fellow Muslims and beheaded numerous Buddhist villagers. The insurgents’ actions have crippled the South’s education system, justice system, and commerce, and also have maligned Buddhist-Muslim relations. Overall, the separatists pose a direct threat to Thailand’s south and an indirect threat to the rest of the country. Moreover, their radical Islamic overtones have potential regional and global terrorist implications. The Thai Government spent much of 2004 attempting to ascertain whether the high level of violence was, in fact, an insurgency. To begin with, the government, led by PM Thaksin Shinawatra, was puzzled by the fact that the separatists had not published a manifesto or approached Bangkok with a list of demands. By mid-2004, however, the insurgents had staged a failed, region-wide revolt, and their prolific leaflet and Internet propaganda campaign clearly demonstrated that a rebel movement was afoot. By fall 2005, the separatists had made political demands via the press, all of which centered on secession. By 2006, a coup against PM Thaksin succeeded and the military government that replaced him instituted a new COIN strategy for the south that by 2008 had reduced violence by about 40 percent. Some of the tenets of this new strategy were based on Thailand’s past successful COIN strategies. Whether or not the government has concocted a winning strategy for the future, however, remains to be seen. This paper analyses these COIN campaigns through the COIN Pantheon, a conceptual model the author developed as an analytical tool. It is based on David Kilcullen’s three pillars of COIN.

This dissertation studies two different aspects of two-player interaction in the model of quantum communication and quantum computation.First, we study two cryptographic primitives, that are used as basic blocks to construct sophisticated cryptographic protocols between two players, e.g. identification protocols. The first primitive is ''quantum bit commitment''. This primitive cannot be done in an unconditionally secure way. However, security can be obtained by restraining the power of the two players. We study this primitive when the two players can only create quantum Gaussian states and perform Gaussian operations. These operations are a subset of what is allowed by quantum physics, and plays a central role in quantum optics. Hence, it is an accurate model of communication through optical fibers. We show that unfortunately this restriction does not allow secure bit commitment. The proof of this result is based on the notion of ''intrinsic purification'' that we introduce to circumvent the use of Uhlman's theorem when the quantum states are Gaussian. We then examine a weaker primitive, ''quantum weak coin flipping'', in the standard model of quantum computation. Mochon has showed that there exists such a protocol with arbitrarily small bias. We give a clear and meaningful interpretation of his proof. That allows us to present a drastically shorter and simplified proof.The second part of the dissertation deals with different methods of proving lower bounds on the quantum query complexity. This is a very important model in quantum complexity in which numerous results have been proved. In this model, an algorithm has restricted access to the input: it can only query individual bits. We consider a generalization of the standard model, where an algorithm does not compute a classical function, but generates a quantum state. This generalization allows us to compare the strength of the different methods used to prove lower bounds in this model. We first prove that the ''multiplicative adversary method'' is stronger than the ''additive adversary method''. We then show a reduction from the ''polynomial method'' to the multiplicative adversary method. Hence, we prove that the multiplicative adversary method is the strongest one. Adversary methods are usually difficult to use since they involve the computation of norms of matrices with very large size. We show how studying the symmetries of a problem can largely simplify these computations. Last, using these principles we prove the tight lower bound of the INDEX-ERASURE problem. This a quantum state generation problem that has links with the famous GRAPH-ISOMORPHISM problem.