Why is it important for a nation’s leaders to fully understand their adversaries and the physical and political environments in which they find themselves?

the dissolution of the soviet union[a] occurred on december 26, 1991, officially granting self-governing independence to the republics of the soviet union. it was a result of the declaration number 142-н of the supreme soviet of the soviet union.[1] the declaration acknowledged the independence of the former soviet republics and created the commonwealth of independent states (cis), although five of the signatories ratified it much later or did not do so at all. on the previous day, december 25, soviet president mikhail gorbachev, the eighth and final leader of the soviet union, resigned, declared his office extinct, and handed over its powers – including control of the soviet nuclear missile launching codes – to russian president boris yeltsin. that evening at 7: 32 p.m., the soviet flag was lowered from the kremlin for the last time and replaced with the pre-revolutionary russian flag.[2]

previously, from august to december, all the individual republics, including russia itself, had either seceded from the union or at the very least denounced the treaty on the creation of the ussr. the week before formal dissolution, 11 republics signed the alma-ata protocol formally establishing the cis and declaring that the ussr had ceased to exist.[3][4] both the revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the ussr also marked the end of the cold war.

several of the former soviet republics have retained close links with the russian federation and formed multilateral organizations such as the commonwealth of independent states, eurasian economic community, the union state, the eurasian customs union, and the eurasian economic union to enhance economic and security cooperation. on the other hand, the baltic states have joined nato and th

"the gulf of tonkin resolution in 1967".

the gulf of tonkin resolution (officially called southeast asia resolution, public law 88-408) is a law issued by the congress of the united states of america on august 7, 1964, in which president lyndon b. johnson was authorized1 to act in a comprehensive manner against the democratic republic of vietnam, which he accused of aggressions against us ships in the gulf of tonkin, where the resolution takes its name. the gulf of tonkin resolution is of historical importance because it gave authorization to the us president. lyndon b. johnson, without a formal declaration of war by congress, to use military force in southeast asia.