Expert Related Publication Feeds

The Future of Special Forces

ian — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Never in their history have U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) been more respected, capable, or effective than they are today. With a series of high-profile direct action missions, punctuated by the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, these elite forces have steadily risen in the public eye and earned the trust and confidence of the nation’s leadership.

Toward More Efficient Protection: The DHS FY 2013 National Preparedness Grant Program

ian — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Over the past decade the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has overseen the distribution of more than $35 billion worth of grants for homeland security projects, yet given current fiscal conditions, DHS will increasingly be faced with the difficult task of building state and local capabilities with fewer funds.

Implications of the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance for U.S. Special Operations Forces

sherry — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

On January 5, 2012, the Obama administration unveiled the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance. Entitled Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for a 21st Century Defense, the document details a strategy for developing U.S. military forces through the year 2020.

Critical Questions for 2012

ian — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

From international security and regional study to global challenges, CSIS experts will address many of the world's most difficult policy concerns and critical questions in 2012. To kick off the new year, we asked 25 of our scholars to identity what worries them most and what are the biggest opportunities in their respective areas of study.

CQ HOMELAND SECURITY—Homeland Security Experts Weigh In

ian — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Reprinted with permission.

With the New Year beginning, CQ has asked dozens of homeland security experts in the public, private, and academic sectors to weigh in on the lessons of 2011 and what 2012 holds in store. The answers provided by Rick “Ozzie” Nelson of CSIS are excerpted here.

The New Executive Order on Information Security: Managing the Balance between Sharing and Safeguarding

sherry — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

On Friday, October 7, the White House released a new Executive Order, “Structural Reforms to Improve the Security of Classified Networks and the Responsible Sharing and Safeguarding of Classified Information.” This order, signed by the president and carrying the force of law, seeks to improve the governance of classified systems and reduce network vulnerabilities to ensure that the

TSA PreCheck Screening Initiative

sherry — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

On October 4, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced a new pilot program to pre-screen domestic airline passengers. The TSA PreCheck Initiative will provide expedited screening to individuals who voluntarily provide information about themselves to security officials.

Information Sharing in Security and Counterterrorism

ian — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This fall, the CSIS Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program continues its second year-long series on information sharing in security and counterterrorism, sponsored by IBM.

Confronting an Uncertain Threat

jdunton — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Al Qaeda and associated movements (AQAM) have become an increasingly diffuse security threat. Although the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands may have represented the epicenter of global terrorism in the past decade, al Qaeda’s various regional affiliates are growing in prominence.

International Standardization of Air Passenger and Cargo Screening

sherry — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Despite efforts by the United States and other nations to strengthen passenger and cargo screening procedures and technology, civil aviation remains a favored target of international terrorists.

Information Sharing in 2011 and Beyond: Remaining Challenges and Opportunities

sherry — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This summer, the CSIS Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program begins its second annual year-long series on information sharing in security and counterterrorism, sponsored by IBM. Last year’s events examined information sharing from a range of perspectives.

The New National Strategy for Counterterrorism

sherry — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

On Wednesday, the White House released the new National Strategy for Counterterrorism.

What Bin Laden’s Death Means for Al Qaeda

ian — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Intelligence exploited from Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, revealed that the late al Qaeda leader exerted greater operational and tactical infl uence on the organization than previously thought.

Continuing to Do More with Less? DHS and the FY2012 Budget

sherry — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill for the coming fiscal year. By some estimates, H.R. 2017 would cut around $1 billion in DHS funding from FY2011 levels.

Natural Disasters: Strategic Rhetoric and Practical Action In The EU, U.S., and Transatlantic Partnership

ian — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The human costs of natural disasters are well-known. The January 2010 Haiti earthquake has
accounted for around 250,000 fatalities, drawing comparisons to the equally-tragic 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami, which killed more than 230,000 people. And natural disasters do not merely strike poor or
developing countries; the 2010 Chilean earthquake killed more than 500 people, and more than 1,800

The FY2011 Budget and Homeland Security Grant Funding

sherry — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Congress recently passed a budget that cuts billions in spending through the end of the 2011 fiscal year. Among the federal departments and agencies that must make do with less is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Counter-Piracy in the Arabian Sea

Mon, 09 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Piracy not only threatens to disrupt maritime trade in the region that Gulf economies depend on, it also undermines confidence in the ability of regional governmnets to address security challenges in their own "backyard." The problem provides a unique opportunity for local actors, most importantly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, to demonstrate initiative and exercise

What Bin Laden's death means for U.S. policy

mentman — Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

For most of the past decade, Osama bin Laden defined U.S. national security policy. Now that the man behind the 11 September 2001 attacks has finally been brought to justice, President Barack Obama has an opportunity to re-shape the direction of his foreign policy.

The March 11 Earthquake: Where Things Stand

ian — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: Where do things stand in Japan?

A Threat Transformed

jdunton — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

National Information Sharing Initiatives and the Department of State:

mentman — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

On December 25, 2009, a 23-year old Nigerian named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully tried to detonate an improvised explosive device aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. The so-called “Christmas Day plot” put counterterrorism-related information sharing in the national spotlight once again. A May 2010 report on the incident by the U.S.

Global Migration, Border Security, and Information Sharing

ian — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program in 2003. US-VISIT underpins DHS’s immigration management and border control efforts by collecting biometric information, such as digital fingerprints and photographs, on most non-U.S.

AQAP in Yemen

mentman — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: Last Friday, two suspicious packages were discovered aboard cargo and passenger flights originating in Yemen and bound for the United States. Reports suggest this may have been a failed bombing attempt by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a terrorist group based in Yemen. What do we know about AQAP and its role in this plot?

The End of SBInet?

mentman — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: There was growing evidence last week that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will scrap plans for a “virtual fence” along the U.S.-Mexico border. Why?

Five Years After Katrina

mentman — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The recent five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina brought about a flurry of public retrospectives on what has and has not changed since one of America’s most tragic natural disasters. The most prominent of these was President Obama’s speech at Xavier University on August 29.

The First DHS Bottom-up Review

mentman — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In February, at the direction of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued its first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR), which outlined high-level, national strategic priorities for the country’s “homeland security enterprise.” In July, DHS issued a follow-up report, the Bottom-Up R

An Ambitious Approach to Information Sharing

mentman — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In the midst of two major wars and international counterterrorism operations, it may be difficult to recall that the September 11, 2001, attacks had roots not only in Afghanistan but also in Florida and Minnesota. That is a point stressed by developers of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative, or the NSI.Policymakers have spent the last few years shaping the NSI.

About that Oil Spill … Welcome to Washington, Mr. Cameron

ian — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: British prime minister David Cameron will visit with President Obama on July 20. What will they talk about?

Border Security in a Time of Transformation

jdunton — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The September 11, 2001, attacks transformed American and international conceptions of border control. The U.S. government, for instance, had traditionally viewed border control as a mostly customs- and immigration-based challenge. But after 9/11, policymakers and officials increasingly viewed borders as potential points of entry for would-be terrorists.

A Growing Terrorist Threat?

jdunton — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Five events during the fall of 2009 thrust concerns over “homegrown” terrorism—or extremist violence perpetrated by U.S. legal residents and citizens1 —into public view:

The First Quadrennial Homeland Security Review

sherry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: What is the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review?

Homegrown Terrorism Fact Sheet

ian — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Five events during the fall of 2009 thrust concerns over “homegrown extremism”—or terrorist activity perpetrated by U.S. legal residents and citizens—into public view:

The Case for an Afghanistan Timeline

sherry — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: Last week President Obama announced that U.S. troops will begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011. What exactly does this entail?

President Obama at West Point

sherry — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

After much anticipation, President Obama last night announced his revamped war strategy for Afghanistan: a 30,000-troop buildup intended to reverse Taliban gains, increase the capability of the Afghan National Army and police, shore up the Karzai government, and begin withdrawals of U.S. forces by 2011.

Q1: What does the new strategy entail?

Iraq versus Afghanistan: A Surge Is Not a Surge Is Not a Surge

ian — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

One critical component in the current debate on whether to surge more U.S. forces into Afghanistan centers on popular conceptions about the surge in Iraq. Those advocating an Afghan surge argue that what worked in Iraq will work in Afghanistan; skeptics contend that conditions are quite different.

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Intelligence Gathering Is Compatible with Counterterrorism

ian — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: Proponents of counterinsurgency, or COIN, argue that intelligence gathering in support of operations against al Qaeda and Taliban militants will be irreparably damaged if the Obama administration pursues a counterterrorism strategy instead of COIN in Afghanistan. Is this necessarily true?

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The Other Side of the COIN

sherry — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

On the heels of General Stanley McChrystal’s proposal for an overhaul of U.S. and NATO strategy in Afghanistan, the Obama administration is holding a series of high-level meetings to review the war. They will confront no shortage of questions and concerns about the direction of the current policy.

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