Simons Center News

A former Department of Defense official recently authored a report on the threat of cyber weapons on the U.S. electrical grid. Paul Stockton served during the Obama administration as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs, and currently serves as senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The report examines how […]

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed by voice vote the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Act of 2018. The CWMD Act would permanently establish the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) CWMD Office, which was established in December 2017 and aims to counter attempts by terrorists and other threat actors to carry out attacks against […]

Featured article: Will Russian Exploitation of Open Press Destroy U.S. Democracy? by Nicholas Kane A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. — U.S. National Security […]

National Security U.S. to Close Consulate in Iraq, Citing Threats From Iran, The Wall Street Journal State Department: Don’t forget about threat of nuclear terrorism, Washington Examiner Border Agency Didn’t Secure Drone Surveillance Video, Photos for 2 Years, Nextgov China Has a ‘Space Force.’ What Are Its Lessons for the Pentagon?, Defense One Is ISIS […]

National Security DoD faces scrutiny on mission creep in Syria to ‘counter Iran’, Military Times Bolton Puts Mattis in a Tight Spot on Syria, Foreign Policy DHS Aims to Replace Slow, Outdated Bioterror-Detection System, Defense One What Disasters Like Hurricane Florence Teach Policymakers, Government Executive Why is Trump accusing China of election interference?, Brookings Pompeo warns […]

Mr. Ralph M. Erwin, Senior Geospatial Intelligence Officer, led a discussion on the roles and missions of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) on September 24 – the second to speak as part of the InterAgency Brown-Bag Lecture Series for academic year 2019. The NGA is both a combat support agency under the Department of Defense and an […]

Featured article: The Ethics of Information-Gap Decision Making by William J. Davis, Jr. and Penny Koerner Not taking risks one doesn’t understand is often the best form of risk management. – Raghuram G. Rajan Classic decision-making theory incorporates three echelons of information required to make a decision: certainty, risk, and uncertainty. Information-gap theory provides models […]

Brigadier General (Ret.) Wendell Chris King, Ph.D., P.E., Dean Emeritus of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) addressed students and faculty from the University of Saint Mary’s (USM) on September 21, the International Day of Peace, as part of the Simons Center Distinguished Speaker Series. The presentation was hosted by Dr. Karenbeth […]

National Security National security leaders: Trump’s Iran strategy could spark war, The Hill America Needs an Entirely New Foreign Policy for the Trump Age, The Atlantic Managing the new threat landscape, Brookings ICE’s Expanded Use of Local Law Enforcement Came Without Adequate Planning or Resources, Government Executive DHS Needs to Define Network Disruptions Before It […]

National Security DHS Needs More Data to Help Stop Bioterrorism, Nextgov FBI, DOJ said to plan redactions despite Trump’s document order, Stars and Stripes State Dept: Worldwide terrorist attacks decreased by 23 percent in 2017, The Hill U.S. To Go on Offense in Cyberspace, Bolton Says, Nextgov National security negligence needs to end, The Hill […]