Hypothetical scenarios often dominate the storyline of possible collusion between organized crime and jihadists in Latin America. The elaborate web of networks woven by drug cartels and Islamists adds to the confusion. A wide range of U.S. adversaries have conducted successful human smuggling operations, posing an immediate threat to U.S. national security.
The threat from Islamic extremists in Latin America remains an overlooked aspect of U.S. national security strategy. And the threat is worsening – not “waning” as the Obama administration claimed about Iran in 2013. The Trump administration should shift U.S. priorities in Latin America to strategies that preemptively disrupt the financial networks of Islamists, aid allied governments with legal and law enforcement support, and increase intelligence-gathering capabilities in the region.
Once treated as purely a criminal problem, the looting and sale of illicit antiquities has recently become matter of national security. The frequent contact between the U.S. military and non-state actors, namely Islamic terrorist organizations, demands a doctrinal change in how military strategy accounts for cultural heritage. The U.S. government and the Department of Defense should give greater precedence to the protection of movable cultural heritage in wartime in order to diminish the capabilities of terrorist organizations who remain the preeminent threat to the safety and security of the United States.
In his January 1997 State of the Union speech, President Bill Clinton lauded the
expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into Central and East
Europe, saying America’s “first task is to help to build…an undivided, democratic Europe.” However, the president also expressed a desire to expand NATO in the hope of fostering seamless military cooperation across Europe.
Executive Summary Zero-based budgeting is an alternative budgeting system proven to decrease expenditures and improve efficiency within private sector companies and public institutions. The process requires organizations to conduct an internal review …
The House and Senate versions of the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act would give the Pentagon greater control over security assistance to other countries — oversight now generally …
The self-styled Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has been seeking to discredit and reverse Israeli policies with respect to the Palestinian Territories since 2005. BDS promotes an international boycott of Israeli …
America’s electric power grid is arguably the most vulnerable part of our nation’s infrastructure. Divided among three geographical regions, the U.S. network remains dangerously exposed to a host of potentially devastating natural disasters …
History does not repeat itself, as the old adage goes, but it surely rhymes. What began in 2002 as an antiterrorism assistance program for a handful of impoverished African countries at risk …
The United States careens from one budget crisis to another while the national debt — now $20 trillion — continues to rise. This trend is a stark reminder that the federal budget …
The way the military buys weapon systems needs serious reform, and it appears that the House Armed Services Committee agrees. Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) recently introduced H.R. 4741, the Acquisition Agility Act. This …
The attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, reminded the world that the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is at war with western civilization. The U.S. government desperately needs a …
The military campaign in Afghanistan demonstrated that, among NATO countries, only Great Britain – with its small but professional military – has the capability to deploy advanced military assets to far-flung theaters of operation in support of U.S. forces. However, the British spend less on defense every year than France and about the same amount as Germany.