The European Decalogue and the Middle Eastern Duodecim

... jointly ensuring the freedom of navigation; jointly fighting piracy, cross-border crime (including human and drug trafficking) and terrorism; and coordinating emergency relief efforts. Sceptic’s remark. History demonstrates that confidence-building measures ... ... realize the risks of a possible escalation or suffer from the growing burden of an arms race. Neither is currently observed in the Middle East. Most of the countries in the region are guided by the principle of “escalation for the sake of subsequent de-escalation.” This is due, in ...