Frank J. Cilluffo and Clinton Watts
September 30, 2011
"Awlaki’s demise improves U.S. security for several reasons. Awlaki’s elimination marks another in a recent series of setbacks for al Qaeda globally. More specifically, it immediately degrades AQAP’s operational planning capacity — especially with respect to plots against the U.S. homeland. Yet, killing Awlaki by no means signals the death knell of al Qaeda generally or even of AQAP specifically. As we argued previously, now is not the time to reduce the pressure being applied through the intertwined efforts of the U.S.’ intelligence and special operations communities." More
Frank J. Cilluffo
May 2, 2011
"Usama bin Laden is dead, a significant blow to al Qaeda. Yet on this first day after his death, much remains to be done — al Qaeda and legions of jihadists remain a threat. As President Obama announced the outcome of American actions in the Abbottabad Valley, he was correct in his assessment that, 'The cause of securing our country is not complete…'" More
Frank J. Cilluffo and Sharon L. Cardash
February 17, 2011
"As change rings through the Arab world, there is a sense of freedom and uncertainty in the air. So many fundamental questions about the future of counterterrorism initiatives, approaches and relationships in the short, and medium to long terms, remain open as Egyptians and others contemplate next steps for their countries. From a U.S. perspective, one of the most critical unresolved questions in the short run is what will become of cooperative bilateral counterterrorism partnerships, not only with Egypt, but also with Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia, Bahrain and Algeria. The U.S. relationship with each has varied and has been far from perfect, more so in certain instances than others. Yet the United States has to some extent relied on each to maintain critical intelligence coverage of the region." More
by Sharon L. Cardash and Frank J. Cilluffo
December 13, 2010
"Before PFC Bradley Manning there was Philip Agee. In 1975, disillusioned with and disaffected by his CIA career, Agee published Inside the Company which named scores of his onetime fellow officers, and generated shockwaves and significant consequences worldwide. As a result of this systematic attempt to destabilize the US intelligence community and its operations, officials were recalled from their posts, operatives’ lives—both US and others—were placed at risk, protests against Agee’s actions were registered, and some (comparatively few, but notably the Soviet KGB and Cuban DGI) came to his defense. The analogy with WikiLeaks is today imperfect in a wired world where information spreads instantaneously and to even the most obscure quarters. Here, the complexity of coping with the horse that has left the barn is staggering." More
by Jayson P. Ahern, Frank J. Cilluffo, and Sharon L. Cardash
October 8, 2010
"As news of an alleged plot to stage a number of coordinated “Mumbai-style” attacks in Europe and possibly the United States continues to unfold, there looms in the background an important but complex matter between the United States and the European Union (EU) that is neither well understood nor resolved: the sharing of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data. What is PNR and why does it matter?" More
by Gregg Lord and Arnold Bogis
September 17, 2010
"Events such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and pandemic flu have led emergency response professionals to recognize the urgent need to plan for catastrophic medical events. How could the medical system deal with a large number of casualties—due to a nuclear detonation, massive earthquake, biological disease (intentional or novel), etc.—when the majority of hospitals operate at peak capacity normally and overcrowding is common during the normal flu season?" More
by Frank J. Cilluffo and Sharon L. Cardash
August 20, 2010
"With US combat operations in Iraq coming to a close at the end of this month, journalists, pundits, politicians and others are weighing in on whether America’s investment of blood and treasure there was worth it. After all, 4,415 American soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of both US and Iraqi interests. Evaluating the merits of America’s investment is, perhaps, a question better left to the politicians, if not to historians, years from now. Instead, security analysts and practitioners should agree that the crucial question centers on the nature of the threat and the security situation that Iraq may present moving forward." More
by Daniel Kaniewski and James Carafano
August 10, 2010
"From July 30 to August 2, the authors of this report visited the Gulf Coast to better understand the federal response to the oil spill. This trip revealed several lessons that, if learned, would dramatically improve the federal government’s ability to respond to future Spills of National Significance." More
by Frank J. Cilluffo and F. Jordan Evert
August 9, 2010
"Clad in army fatigues, holding an AK-47, and armed with a flawless command of American English, Omar Hammami appears on YouTube to describe an anticipated Al Shabaab murder of Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia. In another video, “Al Amriki” (“The American,” Hammami’s nom de guerre), runs in slow motion with a group of jihadists in his wake. Jihadist rap plays in the background." More
by R. David Paulison and Daniel Kaniewski
July 7, 2010
Former FEMA Administrator David Paulison and former White House official Daniel Kaniewski call for Federal leadership of the Gulf oil disaster. Citing existing coordinating mechanisms and authorities, including a Presidential directive, an interagency plan, and FEMA’s experience, Paulison and Kaniewski outline three specific steps that the President should take to effectively manage the crisis. More
by Daniel Kaniewski and James Carafano
June 24, 2010
Drawing a parallel from the failed response to Hurricane Katrina, Daniel Kaniewski and James Carafano point to the need for better coordination of international offers of assistance for the Gulf oil spill response. They demonstrate the applicability of language from the previous Administration’s Katrina lessons learned report to the current crisis. Kaniewski and Carafano also call for better management of foreign aid offers and improved communication between US government agencies and foreign countries. More
by Frank J. Cilluffo and Sharon L. Cardash
May 28, 2010
"A spate of recent cases, from Christmas Day to Times Square, have highlighted the shrinking distance between Aden or Abuja and Manhattan or Manchester. As global meets local, information sharing becomes the currency of the realm. Yet a Senate Committee Report released last week highlights continued, significant deficiencies in this area." More
by Kip Hawley, Frank J. Cilluffo, and Sharon L. Cardash
March 31, 2010
"This week’s tragic and devastating metro bombings in Moscow and car bombings in the Dagestan region were shocking – but in some ways they shouldn’t be. With so many minds and dollars focused on aviation security, surface transportation (including subways, trains and buses) has long been an easier target. Equally, female suicide bombers like the two that authorities identified in Russia this week continue to give us pause since they jar our expectations about perpetrators of such heinous acts. A quick look back at history, however, reveals that there is continuity on this count as well." More
by Sharon L. Cardash, Frank J. Cilluffo, and Paul Maniscalco
February 26, 2010
"The magnitude of the disaster faced by Haiti and its people last month spurred an understandably widespread and immediate response. Like the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia or the 2003 earthquake in Iran, there are times when the scale of devastation wrought by Mother Nature is simply so great as to dwarf whatever traditional interstate rivalries, animosities, or mistrust that may exist. While these times may be few and far between, they are arguably proof positive that nations and people can, and will, rise to the occasion when urgency demands, and reflect their better angels. The more cynical and the hard-headed realists among us might also say that nothing is done without a purpose, and even in this case, there may be larger strategic considerations and motivations at play." More
by Sharon L. Cardash, Frank J. Cilluffo, Michael P. Downing, and F. Jordan Evert
January 28, 2010
"A Senate Foreign Relations Committee report released this month announced that up to three dozen Americans who converted to Islam in prison have traveled to Yemen, possibly to train with al-Qaida. Though blockbuster news, it was largely drowned out by other headlines, including the continuing fallout from the Christmas Day airliner attack. Despite limited public appetite and attention span for more bad news, we ignore such developments at our peril." More
by W. Ralph Basham, Sharon L. Cardash, Frank J. Cilluffo, and Daniel J. Kaniewski
January 8, 2010
"Yesterday afternoon, President Obama made the latest in a series of statements regarding the attempted Christmas Day bombing. Over time more details will undoubtedly become available as investigations continue and efforts to remedy the defects in this case unfold. What is clear, however, is that there was a multilevel systemic failure, in terms of both aviation security and our intelligence architecture." More
by Stephen M. Carmel and Sharon L. Cardash
September 23, 2009
"Although the attack on the Maersk Alabama focused US attention on piracy in East Africa and specifically Somalia, we have yet to have in this country a serious, strategic discussion about what resources should be committed to fighting piracy, or which other priorities may suffer as a result. Considering next steps in larger context would bring to the fore significant questions and issues, such as possible opportunity costs to the US Navy, given the size of the fleet." More
by Sharon L. Cardash
September 11, 2009
"On the eighth anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, it is worth taking stock of just how far we have come. Over and above changes in policies, procedures, and so on, our mindset and conceptual parameters have evolved and adapted." More
by Stephen Flynn, Frank J. Cilluffo, and Sharon L. Cardash
August 28, 2009
"While Katrina serves as a forceful reminder of the inevitability of natural disasters, it underscores another important lesson: the risk we will become victims will rise dramatically if we neglect infrastructure. In the end, it was not an Act of God that doomed so many New Orleanians. It was the neglect of man." More
Also featured on CNN's AC360° Blog
by Daniel J. Kaniewski
June 23, 2009
"Yesterday’s Metro accident demonstrated that the post-9/11 increased focus on local and regional preparedness has not only better prepared the Washington area for acts terrorism, but also for the full range of incidents the area faces." More
by Matthew Levitt
June 2, 2009
"When officials announced the successful prevention of a plot in New York to bomb synagogues and down airplanes with rocket-propelled grenades, many reacted with shock at the prospect of locally radicalized violent extremists plotting attacks here at home. While short of the acute radicalization and recruitment crisis facing many European countries, recent events from Minneapolis to Atlanta suggest the United States is not immune from similar phenomena on our side of the Atlantic." More
by Sharon L. Cardash, Frank J. Cilluffo, and James Jay Carafano
April 22, 2009
"The present landscape, marked by new threats and uncertainties, presents a challenge—but also an opportunity—for Canada and the United States. A joint threat assessment, conducted and published by the two countries, could be a powerful protective tool on both sides of the 49th parallel. It need not—and should not—diminish sovereign capabilities and capacities on either side; to the contrary, it could enhance both." More
by Frank J. Cilluffo and Joseph R. Clark
February 17, 2009
"President Barack Obama has concluded that success in Afghanistan depends upon enhanced coordination along the entire range of national power. To achieve this, he has ordered former CIA officer Bruce Riedel, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Undersecretary for Defense Policy Michele Flournoy to lead a review of US policy. As they work through the mechanics of military, diplomatic, and developmental coordination, it is gravely important that their review not lose sight of key lessons learned from successful counterinsurgencies." More
