(Matthew Levitt is a Senior fellow and Director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy). Here’s my first two cents: Poverty, in and of itself, does not lead to terrorism.
(Greg Djerejian is a financial services professional and publishes the popular blog The Belgravia Dispatch). I certainly believe there are links between poverty and terrorism, but particularly in terms of the West’s so-called Global War on Terror, I believe more important are other variables such as the ones mentioned in the prompt, e.g.
John McCain and I have something in common: we have both tried recently, and failed, to get op-eds picked up by major newspapers. But I daresay McCain’s snub from the New York Times two days ago is a bit more important to the average Washington Note reader.
To begin the online terrorism salon Mark Goldberg of UN Dispatch offers the first question on the relationship between poverty and terrorism: On Day One is a social media site sponsored by the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Campaign that asks everyday people to offer their ideas about what the next president should…
Over the course of a week I will be hosting and moderating an online salon discussion on terrorism in conjunction with Mark Goldberg of UN Dispatch. The questions and prompts will cover everything from defining the scope of the threat to root causes to the most effective counterterrorism tactics within a broader strategy.
Damn! I missed a meeting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies yesterday with three of my favorite national security thinkers — David Ignatius, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Brent Scowcroft.
Julia Watson has a terrific food and restaurant blog eat Washington that I have been checking up on frequently. I’m not intimidated by much, but I do find that I get nervous thinking about cooking — and even more rattled actually doing it, particularly when other humans are involved.
Law of the Seas Treaty advocate Caitlyn Antrim took this shot of the Air Force Memorial from her Arlington home at dawn one recent morning.
I’ve been offline for a day or so working behind the scenes on a number of fronts that I can’t be all that specific about. For Jane Mayer fans, I’m pleased to see that her book is again at #6 on Amazon. More soon — promise.
(U.S. Global Leadership Campaign Director Liz Schrayer and pollster Geoff Garin explain U.S. military leadership attitudes on U.S. national security — partial video) Bob Gates sent shockwaves through the national security community last year at Kansas State University when he dared suggest that the non-military instruments of power are under-resourced. Turns out, he’s not alone….
