Recent News

Senior Fellow Lt. Col. (ret.) Anthony Shaffer appeared on Fox News on Monday to discuss the recent Taliban attacks in Afghanistan.  Shaffer pointed to the clandestine relationship between the Haqqani network, the Taliban, and Pakistani ISI, the location of the attacks inside a veritable “green zone” in Kabul, and the fact that U.S. intelligence assets were unable to provide early warning of the attacks, as topics that demand further investigation.

Watch the clip here.

Shaffer was also quoted in a recent Examiner.com article that discussed the U.S.’s constantly-shifting political and military objectives in Afghanistan.  In the article, Shaffer asserts that recent strategies aimed at bringing stability to the country, such as a “hearts and minds” approach, demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of Afghani culture.  Read the full article here.

Senior Fellow Col. Robert Cassidy’s recently-published book,  War, Will, and Warlords: Counterinsurgency and Terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2001-2011, is now available as a free electronic download.  To download, purchase a hard copy, or learn more about the book, visit the Marine Corps University Press.

War, Will, and Warlords was recently reviewed in Foreign Policy.  The review calls Cassidy’s book “a must read for all scholars, policymakers, diplomats, and military practitioners seeking to understand the Afghanistan-Pakistan nexus.”

Col. Robert Cassidy, PhD is a military professor at the Naval War College.    From June 2010 to June 2011, Cassidy served as the special assistant to the commander of ISAF Joint Command in Afghanistan.

C4ADS Senior Fellow Chris Mason published an essay on April 3rd in the NYTimes.com discussion column Room For Debate.  The topic of discussion was U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.  In his essay, Mason argues that the United States should withdraw Afghanistan immediately, and that civil war in the country is inevitable.  This unfortunate state of affairs, Mason asserts, is the result of Karzai’s divisive presidency and Afghanistan’s inadequate military and security forces.

Read the full column here.

C4ADS Senior Fellow Col. Robert M. Cassidy spoke on the Kojo Nnamdi Radio Show on March 13^th.  He was joined by Nora Bensahel, Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security.  The discussion centered on ongoing tensions between NATO and the government in Kabul.  These tensions have been exacerbated by recent violence, including the killing of two NATO officials in Kabul by an Afghan police officer in February, and the killing of 16 Afghan civilians in March by a U.S. soldier.  Col. Cassidy spoke to the effectiveness of NATO Village Stability Operations (VSO) in Afghanistan, as well as to the country’s long history of violence and tumult.  Listen to a full recording of the discussion here.

Senior Fellow Robert M. Cassidy recently released a new book on counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan over the last decade. The book, entitled “War, Will, and Warlords: Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2001-2011,” is published by the Marine Corps. University Press.War, Will and Warlords by Robert M. Cassidy

The Center for Advanced Defense Studies is pleased to publish a new white paper, Expanding Interdiction Practices to Combat Crime and Terrorism, by veteran Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Bill Woessner. This piece is especially timely as the President releases the budget for the coming year. It is clear from Woessner’s perspectivethat the recognition of the nexus between trans-national crime and terrorism can be translated into smart integrated operations between law enforcement, homeland security, and counter-terrorism forces that will enhance effectiveness and reap savings for all concerned agencies. By focusing on transit nodes, these operations can simultaneously address crime, terror, and illegal immigration, which is particularly important as illegal migrants are increasingly exploited as transportation vectors for crime and terror. We know from our other workthat understanding intent is critical in identifying threats, and Woessner recommends that personnel trained to recognize characteristic indicators of intent can improve effectiveness and reduce intrusiveness of security efforts at major transit points. Finding opportunities for such interagency initiatives is common sense, and we hope that our readers will encourage the consideration of such interagency initiatives by stakeholders and in the public dialogue.

Washington, DC - The Center for Advanced Defense Studies has published a 3-page white paper entitled “Network Intelligence: An Emerging Discipline”. This work highlights the increasing linkage between social sciences and quantitative sciences in intelligence analysis. Network Intelligence (NETINT) leverages the volume, variety and velocity of information available, understanding of human intent, and systems engineering approaches to provide insights into non-obvious relationships that other disciplines do not. Combined with Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and other disciplines, NETINT literally connects the dots to make the world a safer place.

To read the white paper, follow this link.

Last October, C4ADS Chief Scientist Newton Howard, PhD presented at the International Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning Symposium (IRAHSS) 2011 in Singapore.  IRAHSS recently published this presentation and the subsequent panel discussion in its annual symposium report.

Dr. Howard’s presentation focused on the role of intention awareness in cybersecurity.  The study and analysis of intention is a critical element of behavioral network analysis.  In his presentation, Dr. Howard postulated that behavioral network analysis, which increasingly can ‘see’ actors’ needs and desires, will soon eclipse social network analysis in its relevance to cybersecurity.

The full symposium report is available here.

SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY NEWPORT, R.I. - Colonel Robert Cassidy, a military professor at the U.S. Naval War College and a Senior Fellow with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, discussed Pakistan and its contradictions on Wednesday, 25 January 2012, in the Young Building as part of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy’s lecture series.

Cassidy discussed the strategic rationale for the war in South Asia, with a focus on Pakistan. His talk addressed the difficult regional context and reviewed Pakistan’s strategic goals vis-à-vis Afghanistan and India, highlighting the effects of that rationale on Pakistan’s security, and on Afghanistan’s stability.  The essence of the presentation looked into the contradictions of Pakistan, its security policies, and the attendant contradictions in America’s stated strategy for both Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Cassidy’s scholarship and experience focus on irregular warfare and stability operations. He has served as a special assistant to two senior general officers, a special operations strategist, and as a battalion commander.  Last year Colonel Cassidy served as special assistant to the operational commander in Afghanistan.   Cassidy has published a number of articles and is the author of three books on irregular warfare and stability operations.  Marine Corps University Press published latest book, War, Will and Warlords, about Pakistan and Afghanistan, just recently. Cassidy received his Ph.D. from Tufts University’s Fletcher School.