Combating Terrorism Center at West Point » Post Groups: Announcements + CTC Experts in the News http://www.ctc.usma.edu An independent, privately funded research and education institute. Fri, 17 May 2013 02:59:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 combatingterrorismcenterhttp://feedburner.google.com Associated Press Cites the CTC Sentinel http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/associated-press-cites-the-ctc-sentinel-2 http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/associated-press-cites-the-ctc-sentinel-2#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 02:59:00 +0000 Erich Marquardt http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14881 In an article titled “Weapons of War Spill Blood in Nigeria’s Insurgency,” the Associated Press cited Jacob Zenn’s article on Boko Haram in the March 2013 issue of the CTC Sentinel.

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/associated-press-cites-the-ctc-sentinel-2/feed 0 LTG Hernandez Visits CTC http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ltg-hernandez-visits-ctc http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ltg-hernandez-visits-ctc#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 20:50:30 +0000 Gabriel Koehler-Derrick http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14862 On 3 May, LTG Rhett Hernandez, Commander of Army Cyber Command, attended a roundtable discussion with the CTC staff to discuss cyber terrorism and terrorist use of the Internet. A long time friend of the Center, LTG Hernandez also visited Dr. Nelly Lahoud’s class to answer cadets’ questions on cyberspace operations and implications for the law of armed conflict. LTG Hernandez advised the cadets to consider how cyber will affect their operations as junior officers.

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ltg-hernandez-visits-ctc/feed 0 Quartz Cites the CTC Sentinel http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/quartz-cites-the-ctc-sentinel http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/quartz-cites-the-ctc-sentinel#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 15:26:49 +0000 Erich Marquardt http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14859 In an article titled “Move over Tim Cook: The Real Face of Global Supply Chains is a Mexican Drug Kingpin,” Quartz, the Atlantic’s digital business publication, cited Samuel Logan’s article on the Sinaloa Federation in the April 2013 issue of the CTC Sentinel.

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/quartz-cites-the-ctc-sentinel/feed 0 Toronto Star Cites the CTC Sentinel http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/toronto-star-cites-the-ctc-sentinel http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/toronto-star-cites-the-ctc-sentinel#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 11:42:55 +0000 Erich Marquardt http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14855 In an article titled “Hezbollah Global Terror Network Shows ‘Spike’ in Canadian Connections,” the Toronto Star cited Matthew Levitt’s article on Hizb Allah in the April 2013 issue of the CTC Sentinel.

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/toronto-star-cites-the-ctc-sentinel/feed 0 ProPublica Cites the CTC Sentinel http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/propublica-cites-the-ctc-sentinel http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/propublica-cites-the-ctc-sentinel#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:57:04 +0000 Erich Marquardt http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14848 In an article titled “How Hezbollah Trained an Operative to Spy on Israeli Tourists,” ProPublica’s Sebastian Rotella cited Matthew Levitt’s article on Hizb Allah in the April 2013 issue of the CTC Sentinel.

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/propublica-cites-the-ctc-sentinel/feed 0 CTC’s Hefstein On Intelligence Lessons From Boston http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ctcs-hefstein-on-intelligence-lessons-from-boston http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ctcs-hefstein-on-intelligence-lessons-from-boston#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:25:34 +0000 Gabriel Koehler-Derrick http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14810 CTC’s Dr Scott Helfstein publishes a commentary on the evolving threat landscape and its implications for U.S. policy entitled “Intelligence Lessons From the Boston Attacks.”. The article, one of the first terrorism pieces published by Foreign Affairs Online since the attack, argues that remote or local conflicts can quickly become global. The availability of real-time information from conflict zones like Syria or Mali only increases the possibility that a small threat somewhere else can wind up at the doorstep with little warning. It is hard to overstate the importance of improving international intelligence cooperation in light of these pressures. It is nearly impossible for the United States, acting alone, to track the behavior of a two-person cell across continents and into remote territories.

The complete article can be found here

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ctcs-hefstein-on-intelligence-lessons-from-boston/feed 0 GEN Jacoby Visits CTC http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/gen-jacoby-visits-ctc http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/gen-jacoby-visits-ctc#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:52:37 +0000 Gabriel Koehler-Derrick http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14805 General Charles H. Jacoby, Jr., Commander of the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), visited West Point on April 19th.  In addition to a roundtable with CTC faculty, General Jacoby delivered a guest lecture to cadets enrolled in SS464, Homeland Security and Homeland Defense.  His lecture covered the military’s role in the homeland and challenges for future leaders.

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/gen-jacoby-visits-ctc/feed 0 Cadets Participate in 2013 Crisis Simulation with FDNY http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/cadets-participate-in-2013-crisis-simulation-with-fdny http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/cadets-participate-in-2013-crisis-simulation-with-fdny#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:42:31 +0000 Gabriel Koehler-Derrick http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14800 Cadets taking the Combating Terrorism Center’s Homeland Security and Defense course participated in the 5th Annual Crisis Simulation Exercise at the Fire Department of New York City’s Operations Center on April 17, 2013. The joint endeavor by the CTC and FDNY’s Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness is a substantial professional development experience that forces cadets to apply lessons learned in the classroom to a simulated crisis such as a terrorist attack, an earthquake, or a large hurricane hitting lower Manhattan. Several preparatory events took place throughout the semester, culminating in this day-long functional exercise. This year’s edition utilized real-world data and footage from Hurricane Sandy to test the cadets’ leadership and problem solving skills under the expert tutelage of New York City’s bravest. Course director Mr. Brian Dodwell and CTC instructors LTC Jon Brickey, Mr. Joe Quinn, and Mr. Eric Joyce worked with Assistant Chief and CTC Senior Fellow Joe Pfeifer and his team to make the experience as realistic as possible. In addition to meeting FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, cadets had to brief BG Ray Shields (NY National Guard), CPT Gordon Loebl (USCG, NYC Captain of Port), COL Paula Gregory (NORTHCOM) and Chief Pfeifer.

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/cadets-participate-in-2013-crisis-simulation-with-fdny/feed 0 CTC Publishes on Social Capital and Terrorism http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/14797 http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/14797#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:00:02 +0000 Gabriel Koehler-Derrick http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14797 Dr. Scott Helfstein publishes an article at Defence and Peace Economics titled “Social Capital and Terrorism.” An article summary follows.

Many studies of terrorism explain the use of violence against civilians with political or economic forces, often relegating social variables to the margins. Social factors, specifically societal-level social capital, play a far more important role in explaining patterns of terrorist activity than previously recognized. Social capital can exert pressures that act as both restraint and catalyst for terrorism, making explicit exposition of these differential effects critical. Analysis shows that higher stocks of social capital positively correlate with the number of terrorist groups, but the average attack activity of those groups increase as measures of social capital decline. The complex relationship makes it difficult to draw simple policy implications, but it does offer insight into the role that social dynamics play in terrorist activity.

The full text is available here

]]> http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/14797/feed 0 CTC Among Experts Discussing Diffusion of Terrorism http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ctc-among-experts-discussing-diffusion-of-terrorism http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ctc-among-experts-discussing-diffusion-of-terrorism#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:58:28 +0000 Gabriel Koehler-Derrick http://www.ctc.usma.edu/?p=14795 Dr. Scott Helfstein joined an esteemed panel of terrorism scholars including Audrey Kurth Cronin, David Rapoport, Michael Kenney and Thomas Hegghammer to discuss the diffusion and terrorism at the 2013 International Studies Association Annual Conference. Chaired by Dr. Cronin, the panelists provided different perspectives on the spread of terrorism, its underlying ideologies and the use of technology. Dr. Helfstein argued countervailing forces, be they normative or military, limits the application of standard diffusion models.

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