For example, he said staff of BP's new Safety and Operational Risk organisation, set up by Mr Hayward's successor Bob Dudley in 2011, now had the authority to order that an operation be stopped, when the previous safety body had more of an advisory role.

CNN: BP claims it now leads the way on safety

Whereas Defensive Shield's strategic success was owed to Israel's decision to maintain control over the territory the IDF seized in the fighting, in launching the wars with Hizbullah and Hamas, Sharon's successor, Ehud Olmert, ignored that success and chose instead to emulate the operation's failures.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A low and dishonest decade

In April, Mr Putin claimed that the military operation in Chechnya was over, and handed responsibility for the region to the Federal Security Service, successor to the KGB.

ECONOMIST: The Chechens strike | The