Photo Credit: Version Daily By Antonia Ward, Columnist ISIS’s strategic use of social media demonstrates the resourcefulness of the terrorist-cum-insurgent organization, which mobilized an estimated 40,000 foreign nationals from 110 countries to join the group.[i] Increasing internet access in both Africa and the Middle East means that ISIS also has a new pool of potential supporters who, … Continue reading ISIS’s Use of Social Media Still Poses a Threat to Stability in the Middle East and Africa
Category: Technology
Russia Strategic Understanding of Cyber: Not an Information War – A War on Information
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov at a military academy reception. Photo Credit: Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP via Getty Images By: Madison Creery, Columnist Although Russia’s latent cyber capabilities are only ranked sixth in the world, Russia is the second most active state in the realm of offensive cyber operations.[i] … Continue reading Russia Strategic Understanding of Cyber: Not an Information War – A War on Information
The Best Defense is a Good Offense: Analyzing China’s Nuclear Weapons Program
Chair for the foreign affairs committee of China's National People's Congress Fu Ying speaks at the Munich Security Conference. Photo Credit: EPA By: Nick Impson When the US Department of Defense released its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) in February of 2018, China immediately criticized the U.S. focus on developing additional tactical nuclear weapons. In a … Continue reading The Best Defense is a Good Offense: Analyzing China’s Nuclear Weapons Program
Countering Terrorism Online: Can New Public-Private Approaches Turn the Tide?
Anwar al-Awlaki. Photo Credit: New York Times By: Alicia Chavy, Columnist A YouTube search for “Anwar al-Awlaki” returns 40,000 hits.[i] The poster child for the use of the internet to radicalize others online, Awlaki was a master of creating propaganda materials targeted at Western Muslims. By making jihadist materials available in English, Anwar al-Awlaki and … Continue reading Countering Terrorism Online: Can New Public-Private Approaches Turn the Tide?
Getting the Most Out of Drones Requires Coherent Policy
Graffiti in Yemen. Photo Credit: CNN By: Kathryn Long, Columnist During the Obama administration, drone strikes, or the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to attack ground targets, became a crucial tool in US counterterrorism strategy.[i] Unmanned aerial vehicles have been in use since the 1980s, but it was not until shortly after the September 11 … Continue reading Getting the Most Out of Drones Requires Coherent Policy
The War of Ideas: Advocating for a Stronger US Information Warfare Capability
The U.S. should establish and adequately resource a 21st century equivalent to the USIA. Above is USIA's 20th Review of Operations from January 1st to June 30th, 1963. By: Benjamin Carsman, Columnist The United States’ enduring challenge countering terrorist propaganda and more recent threats from nation state information operations have highlighted the need for a … Continue reading The War of Ideas: Advocating for a Stronger US Information Warfare Capability
A Crumbling Foundation: The Future of Arms Control
President Barack Obama signs the instrument of ratification of the New START Treaty in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011. Participants include, from left: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen; Energy Secretary Steven Chu; Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. Richard Lugar, … Continue reading A Crumbling Foundation: The Future of Arms Control
Abandoning the INF Treaty: Risking an Arms Race
Ronald Reagan, then president of America, and his Soviet counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev, signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987. By: Samira Pakmehr, Columnist On October 20, 2018, Donald Trump declared the United States’ intent to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. Signed towards the end of the Cold War … Continue reading Abandoning the INF Treaty: Risking an Arms Race
The Intersection of New Technology and International Security: An Interview with Professor Ben Buchanan
By: Meghan McGee, Reporter Photo Credit: Belfer Center Professor Ben Buchanan is the newest core faculty member of Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, teaching his first Georgetown class this fall. Dr. Buchanan currently teaches SEST 500: Theory & Practice of Security (a class I myself am currently attending). His work focuses on how states use … Continue reading The Intersection of New Technology and International Security: An Interview with Professor Ben Buchanan
Messaging is Key to Bringing Top Talent onto Defense Projects
By: Kathryn Long, Columnist On October 9th, the Government Accountability Office released a report to the Senate Armed Services Committee criticizing the failure of the Department of Defense (DOD) to take seriously cybersecurity concerns relating to weapons systems.[i] The report acknowledged that DOD has taken steps to improve this deficiency but noted “DOD is struggling … Continue reading Messaging is Key to Bringing Top Talent onto Defense Projects