Center for Advanced Defense Studies - Media

Insecure, narcissistic and petulant - how Washington sees Chavez

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:00:10 -0400

27 June 2007

In a recent profile on Hugo Chavez for the US Air Force, Dr. Jerrold Post describes the Venezuelan President as driven by insecurity, "malignant narcissism" and the need for adulation. "He has been acting increasingly messianic and so he is likely to either get the constitution rewritten to allow for additional terms or eventually declare himself president-for-life," says the Chief Scientist in Political Psychology at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS) in a Reuters interview. "To keep his followers engaged, he must continue outrageous and inflammatory attacks."

A Bush-Putin Discussion on the Radar

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:49:34 -0400

19 June 2007

Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS) Fellow Dr. Richard Weitz writes about growing tensions between Russia and the US over a US-sponsored proposed missile defense shield in Eastern Europe in a Washington Post commentary. Speaking about Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to instead develop a joint US-Russian ballistic missile defense (BMD) facility in Azerbaijan, Weitz suggests that "At most, the offer might induce the United States to abandon its efforts to deploy BMD assets in Poland and the Czech Republic. At the least, it could help to stabilize relations between Russia and many NATO countries, which had deteriorated in recent months due largely to the BMD dispute."

Japan Promotes Multilateralism in Central Asia

Mon, 14 May 2007 12:19:46 -0400

4 May 2007

"Given the general lack of transparency, high level of corruption, and underdeveloped legal codes in Central Asia, the Japanese government is finding it difficult to encourage private-sector investment in the region," writes Dr. Richard Weitz in a Eurasianet commentary highlighting Japan's growing diplomatic push in the region.

Massacre in Virginia: For Rampage Killers, Familiar Descriptions, 'Troubled,' 'Loner,' but No Profile

Mon, 14 May 2007 12:05:58 -0400

18 April 2007

Reflecting on the Virginia Tech killings perpetrated by university student Seung-Hui Cho, in what amounted to the largest school shooting in US history, Dr. Jerrold Post contrasted suicide mass killers like Mr. Cho with suicide bombers. Suicide bombers are chosen for their mental stability, while rampage killers are typically mentally troubled, said Post, Chief Scientist in Political Psychology at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS). Suicide bombers are usually directed by a commander, and believe in a fundamental sense they are acting to save the world, he added in a New York Times interview.

Defense Concepts II.1: Call for Papers

Sun, 8 Jul 2007 22:35:51 -0400

15 April 2007

The Center for Advanced Defense Studies is soliciting contributions for the next issue of Defense Concepts, its quarterly publication. In line with the Center's mission, Defense Concepts promotes research in the fields of information sciences, cognitive studies and information security. Topics of interest include: information interoperability, cognitive studies, cyber security and information assurance, information operations, counterterrorism and global security.

A Military Hotline Would Mean Little

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:16:12 -0400

8 April 2007

In an International Herald Tribune commentary, Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS) Fellow Richard Weitz criticizes a US proposal to establish a direct communications link between the Pentagon and the Chinese defense ministry. "Although unobjectionable, a military hotline would contribute little to overcome the persistent differences in how the United States and Chinese defense establishments respond to emergencies," he says. "Even with its creation, a confrontation over Taiwan, Japan's defense restructuring, or some other issue could easily again freeze [US-China] bilateral military relations."

Don't Waver on Waivers

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 13:30:59 -0400

16 March 2007

In a Baltimore Sun article, Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS) Fellow Richard Weitz comments on the visa waiver component of a recently passed Senate homeland security bill. "Since Congress established the visa waiver program in 1986, it has removed unnecessary travel barriers, encouraged tourism, strengthened relations with friendly nations and saved the government money by allowing State Department consular officers to focus attention on individuals from higher-risk visa applicant countries," he writes. "Keeping terrorists out of the United States is very important, but needlessly antagonizing foreign nations in the process can be self-defeating."

Was Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Playing to the Jury?

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:20:23 -0500

16 March 2007

Reflecting on the military tribunal testimony of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who namely claims to have masterminded the 9/11 attacks on the United States, Dr. Jerrold Post argues that the performance, fraught with numerous allegations of responsibility, demonstrates both psychological warfare and well-crafted courtroom arguments. "This does not reflect someone who was brainwashed," says Post, Chief Scientist in Political Psychology at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS), in a Los Angeles Times interview. "I take it as confirmation of the significance of his position that despite his thuggish appearance, this is a very shrewd and rather precise individual whose attention to detail and careful planning went into his being promoted to such a high position within Al Qaeda."

Enhancing Emergency Communications Interoperability

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:33:51 -0500

16 February 2007

Commenting on a Department of Homeland Security report that found major shortcomings in US emergency tactical communications interoperability, Dr. Richard Weitz identifies a number of lessons to be learned to improve tactical communications among any community's emergency responders. Writing in a Washington Post commentary, Weitz emphasizes the positive effect of repeated practice (through exercises), and the fact that "longstanding "cultural" differences continue to impede tactical communications interoperability among different responder communities" and proposes strong leadership and extensive training to resolve those challenges.

Weitz, a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS), also suggests that "a 'system of systems' approach that allows emergency responder communities to retain existing communications technologies while progressively incorporating new ones may provide the best balance between excessively slow and overly rapid transitions." Emphasizing the importance of simplicity of use for emergency communications technologies and the importance of allocating funds to communications equipment, Weitz suggests that "the federal government needs to provide extra assistance to lagging communities despite the political difficulties such funding disparities might entail."

Al-Qaeda's Recruitment Manual: A New Book by CADS Senior Fellow Mathieu Guidère

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:22:37 -0500

6 Feburary 2007

In line with the continuous work of researchers at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies in understanding the nature of conflict, Dr. Mathieu Guidère investigates Al-Qaeda's recruitment methods in a new book. Working in close collaboration with Nicole Morgan of the Royal Military College of Canada, Guidère, a Senior Fellow at the Center, applies the intent-centric paradigm to uncover Al-Qaeda's recruitment tactics in Le Manuel de Recrutement d'Al-Qaïda(Al-Qaeda’s recruitment manual). The authors apply cognitive linguistics and the intent-centric paradigm in ways pioneered by the Center.

The Center’s Radicalization Watch Project (RWP), funded in part through the US State Department, monitors websites by extremists and radical groups, apply cultural intelligence methodologies to better understand and analyze. For their book, Morgan and Guidère worked in cooperation with the RWP and monitored the main jihadist websites, discussion forums and Islamic distribution lists between 2005 and 2006. The authors observe that certain documents were systematically recommended to individuals demonstrating an interest in joining Al-Qaeda. As soon as an individual indicates his desire to participate in the Jihad, he is encouraged to undergo preliminary training by reading a number of texts written by eminent Al-Qaeda associates. The authors find that recruiters are selective, often highly discriminating in light of their large pool of potential motivated candidates (an average of one hundred declarations of intent per month).

Russia and the United States Wrestle for Control of the OSCE Agenda

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:20:23 -0500

8 January 2007

With differing U.S. and Russian visions of the direction the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should take, “2007 could prove an important year for the 56-member state organization,” writes Dr. Richard Weitz in a Eurasianet commentary.

“American officials prefer the OSCE to continue devoting attention to political reform issues (especially elections monitoring), but to allocate greater resources to monitoring the situation in the former Soviet Union,” explains Dr. Weitz, a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS). “The governments of Russia and its allies want to rebalance the OSCE functionally by having it focus on political and military cooperation.”

Final Chapter in Life of Brutality

Fri, 5 Jan 2007 11:36:33 -0500

30 December 2006

“He has the most traumatized background of any leader I’ve profiled,” said Dr. Jerrold Post in a McClatchy Newspapers story published on the eve of Saddam Hussein’s execution on 30 December. The Iraqi dictator’s hanging completed a saga that began with a turbulent childhood that fueled his ambition and subsequent rise to power from humble origins.

Saddam’s father died before he was born, and his impoverished mother “would not even look at her newborn son, would not accept him into her arms,” Dr. Post, Chief Scientist in Political Psychology at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS), told the New York Daily News in a separate story. Following a stint with his mother and brutal stepfather, Saddam was reunited at age 10 with the uncle who raised him from birth—and who began telling him that he was destined for greatness.

TSA Modifies Screening Machines

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:43:37 -0500

27 December 2006

Experts caution that modifications to the backscatter x-ray machine, which is being tested at a U.S. airport for the first time next month, could increase the chance of missed threats—most notably of plastic explosives.

“I would bet that I could take some plastic explosives, put them on my upper thigh, and the blurring would let me get the stuff on board,” says Dr. Andrew Karam, a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS) in a USA TODAY story on the modified airport screener.

Guide to Polonium: Questions and Answers

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:18:49 -0500

14 December 2006

The death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has become an international news sensation, thanks in part to the cause: fatal exposure to polonium. The rare radioactive element is turning up in so many places—including two British Airways jets, a sushi restaurant, and a soccer stadium—that Litvinenko’s likely murderer was “sloppy,” says Dr. Andrew Karam in a USA TODAY interview.

Dr. Karam, a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS), told USA TODAY following Litvinenko’s death that while polonium is highly lethal, its weak transmission abilities meant that airline travelers should be safe “unless passengers were licking seats.” Still, unraveling the mystery of Litvinenko’s death faced its share of complications. “Generally, it’s not recommended that you autopsy radiation poisoning victims,” Dr. Karam explains. “You have to treat bodily fluids as potentially radioactive contaminants.”

Why Success in Afghanistan is Slow in Coming

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:30:08 -0500

12 December 2006

“During the past year, the Taliban has launched increasingly effective operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan,” writes Dr. Richard Weitz in a TCS Daily commentary, explaining why that country’s problems were the focal point of discussion at the recent NATO summit in Riga, Latvia.

Because the fighting in Afghanistan is the heaviest there since 2001, the Afghan National Army “cannot defeat major Taliban attacks without Western assistance,” maintains Dr. Weitz, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS). One problem is lack of troop presence in Afghanistan, a country of 30 million people, despite the presence of two support groups: the U.S. Combined Forces Command and the International Security Assistance Force. “At present, fewer foreign troops are deployed in Afghanistan than Kosovo, which only has two million residents,” Dr. Weitz writes.