Defence and strategy

Memories of the Gulf War veteran

Ivan PRINC

In the article the author in his memoirs ponders the military-political aspects of the presence of toxic substances in the Gulf War in 1990-1991, measured by chemists from the 1st Czechoslovak independent chemical protection battalion. The thesis provides a comprehensive look at the history of its origin, its own deployment of in the war, and access to public administrations to its members after returning from the war.

Ján SPIŠÁK, Jaroslav KOLKUS

The article deals with scenario issues and their practical use for determining the capabilities to fulfill the missions of the Armed Forces. In the introduction, the article informs the reader about the basic terminology, the theoretical framework and the views of foreign and domestic experts on the given issue. In the next part, the paper presents critical attitude to the draft Concept of using the CAF until 2030, in relation to defined capabilities. Subsequently, the structural and content aspects of the hypothetical scenario are discussed, with the recommendation to use this method for processing similar documents in the national environment.

Věra-Karin BRÁZOVÁ, Rafał WIŚNIEWSKI

The growing complexity of the security environment has recently revived systems theories in many areas. Yet, the notion of security system has been used in strategic documents of the central European countries already for many years. This paper thus examines how the understanding of the security system has developed over time in Poland and the Czech Republic and how do the national concepts of security system relate to the theoretical understanding of systems. Finally, we examine how the idea of security system is translated into practice in the two countries.

Deployment and Defence Programme

Ladislav KULHÁNEK

The paper addresses the issue of the proliferation of the rocket technology deployed in guerrilla warfare throughout the Near East. It evaluates assumptions and identifies potential regressions with respect to the most recent hot phase in the violent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, with a focus on primary methods based on rocket shelling and resistance efforts. In comparing the two military forces, Israel emerges as the stronger, even if artillery and tactical ballistic missiles with warheads containing substances defined as weapons of mass destruction were to be deployed as an extreme first measure by Hezbollah, in which case an Israeli or American response would destroy at least parts of Lebanon.

Nature of the Threat

David MRVA

The proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on the battlefield does not exclude terrorist actors. Recently, there is an evident increase in the number of incidents when the so called Islamic State has used UAVs. This article tries to describe this relatively new phenomenon and present an overview of main types of the potential Islamic State’s UAV employment in Europe. Despite the fact, that the UAV use by terrorist actors will probably not have strategic impact by itself, it constitutes a new challenge for state security agencies.

External Actors in Pre- & Post-Revolutionary Libya - Review of Current Research

Hana VOTRADOVCOVÁ

External actors appear to be one of the key factors in post-revolutionary Libya – country divided by a civil conflict. Aim of this research review is to summarize major Western academic publications that focus on the role and interests of external actors in Libya. The review reflects on the writings dealing with the interests of Western actors –France, UK, Italy, Germany, USA - and the activities of Russia, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or UAE, whose increasing influence in post-revolutionary Libya is related to the ongoing conflict and mutual rivalry.