Publications

Who is the Imam Consulted by the Ft. Hood Assassin?
A Look at the Terrorist Ties of Anwar al-Aulaqi and the Radicalization Process
by Susan Schmidt

Published on November 9th, 2009
Anwar al-Aulaqi, the former imam of mosques in Falls Church and San Diego who was a spiritual advisor to two of the 9/11 hijackers is suspected of involvement in terrorist plots directed at the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials. Aulaqi, a U.S. citizen who was imam at Virginia’s Dar al Hijrah on 9/11, moved to Yemen a few months after the attacks. Audiotapes and transcripts of his lectures on waging jihad against the West have been discovered in the password protected computer files of numerous suspects arrested in bombing plots in Europe and North America. He pronounced suspected Fort Hood slayer Nidal Hasan "a hero" and "a man of conscience" in an internet blog posting Monday.

Iran In The Western Hemisphere
Oral Testimony Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
by Douglas Farah

Published on October 27th, 2009
I believe the growing influence of Iran is a significant threat to the United States and is an under-reported part of the equation that is driving the instability and uncertainty in Latin America, from the crisis in Honduras to the rapidly-closing space for democratic freedoms in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and elsewhere where the Bolivarian revolution has gained a foothold.

Transnational Drug Enterprises: Threats to Global Stability and U.S. National Security from Southwest Asia, Latin America and West Africa
Testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
by Douglas Farah

Published on October 1st, 2009
What we are seeing in the era of globalization, is that flexible criminal and terrorist pipelines -- where key facilitators are vital to the operations of both sets of actors -- are highly adaptable and forward thinking. These pipelines or recombinant chains of actors and commodities now have the ability to move goods, both licit and illicit, around the globe to wherever the environment is most hospitable and tolerant. While by far the most lucrative commodities in the pipeline are cocaine and heroin, the same pipelines serve weapons traffickers, human smugglers, fraud and contraband.

Looking Forward: The End of NATO?
by Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

Published on October 1st, 2009
Institutionally NATO remains intact but whether it would actually function in a conflict is a question that has long been becoming more and more puzzling.

The Asian Airpower Balance: Challenges from Chinese and Russian Fifth-Generation Fighter Programs
The Hudson Institute

Published on September 14th, 2009
In July, the Obama Administration defeated congressional attempts to reverse the administration's April decision to end production of the F-22, currently the world's only fifth-generation fighter. With Russia and China developing fifth-generation fighter programs, the United States could find itself ceding its aerial dominance. In cooperation with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, Hudson Institute examined the strategic implications for U.S. airpower in Asia. Speaking at this conference were Richard Fisher, Senior Fellow, the International Assessment and Strategy Center and author of China's Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach; aviation expert Rebecca Grant, Senior Fellow at the Lexington Institute; and Reuben Johnson, a correspondent for Jane's Information Group and a consultant on international aircraft issues. Hudson Institute CEO Kenneth Weinstein introduced the event, and Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Seth Cropsey moderated the discussion.

Report From MAKS 2009: Betting On the Next Generation
by Richard Fisher, Jr.

Published on September 11th, 2009
A chilly and cloudy week at the August 18-22, 2009 Moscow Aerosalon (MAKS) matched the somber times for the Russian aerospace sector.  While the 2009 show proved far better organized than the previous one in 2007, allowing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to avoid a public relations embarrassment, his near full-day presence on opening day served to remind all (as if they needed reminding) who was in charge.  Putin offered lectures and cash.  He warned an ailing Russian aerospace sector, deep in the throes of a major reorganization/consolidation, that it could not expect government bailouts to last forever, and sharply criticized the new United Aircraft consortium (OAK) over its $3.76 billion in debt.   But Putin also said he would consider $470 million to aid the Mikoyan Company and another $100 million for Sukhoi.

China Puts Up a Fighter
Wall Street Journal
by Richard Fisher, Jr.

Published on September 1st, 2009
With few exceptions, Beijing rarely says much of substance about its ongoing military build-up or its strategic thinking. But the overriding message from the recent Moscow Airshow and other airshows, plus occasional interviews with Chinese and Russian engineers, is that Beijing is not conceding next-generation air superiority to anyone, least of all the United States.

Why the 'Merchant of Death' Might Not Stand Trial
Foreign Policy
by Douglas Farah

Published on August 11th, 2009
A Thai court refused to extradite Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer, to the United States. Something is rotten in Bangkok.

Honduras Breaks a Paradigm in Latin America
by Margarita M. Montes

Published on July 11th, 2009
The removal of President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales from power by the Honduran army on Sunday, June 28, has put an end to a paradigm in Latin American contemporary political history. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, an army removes a legally and democratically elected President to restore the rule of law, not to break the rule of law, as it used to be in the past.

Why the F-22 Matters for Japan
Sankei Shimbun
by Richard Fisher, Jr.

Published on July 4th, 2009
Two critical political "dogfights" are underway in Washington that could help determine the speed with which Japan may have to make a critical decision on whether to acquire a decisive means of deterrent, quite possibly a nuclear deterrent. The first dogfight is between the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration over whether to continue production of the Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor 5th generation super-fighter.  A second and related dogfight is whether a group of Congressmen led by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii can persuade Congress to change a law preventing foreign sales of the F-22, so that Japan could then purchase an export version of this fighter.