Category: Uncategorized

AC Selects: Russia and Ukraine: NATO Secretary General and experts weigh in

Week of January 28, 2022 This week, the Transatlantic Security Initiative hosted an #ACFrontPage conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on NATO’s response to Russia’s military buildup in and around Ukraine and renewed tensions in Europe. Also, catch the Eurasia Center’s event outlining likely scenarios for Russia’s new Ukraine invasion and the Europe Center’s […]

The Afghan Taliban aren’t likely to give up the TTP. Here’s why.

By Fahd Humayun

This week, a commander of the anti-Pakistan terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was killed by sniper fire in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Afghanistan’s new ruling dispensation under the Afghan Taliban is unlikely to have had a hand in the hit, despite Islamabad’s insistence that the new regime take action against the outlawed terrorist group.

A Lunar Guide to Ransomware: Choose-your-own-adventure

By Emma Schroeder, Logan Wolff, and the Cyber Statecraft Initiative

Check out the Cyber Statecraft Initiative's ransomware choose-your-own-adventure story!

Surveillance Technology at the Fair: Proliferation of Cyber Capabilities in International Arms Markets

By Winnona DeSombre, Lars Gjesvik, and Johann Ole Willers

Nation-state cyber capabilities are increasingly abiding by the “pay-to-play” model—both US/NATO allies and adversaries can purchase interception and intrusion technologies from private firms for intelligence and surveillance purposes. This paper analyzes active providers of interception/intrusion capabilities, as well as the primary arms fairs at which these players operate. The answers to these questions will allow policymakers to better understand the proliferation of cyber capabilities in the hands of irresponsible corporate actors that presents an urgent challenge to national and global security.

Building growth: The future of MENA’s construction sector

By Atlantic Council

In Season 2, Episode 5 of empowerME Conversations podcast, host and Atlantic Council empowerME Director Amjad Ahmad speaks with Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) Chairman Samer Khoury about the future of the construction industry, how companies can partner with and support startups, policies needed to boost the region’s economic growth, and ways to improve the talent pipeline and bring more women into the workforce.

The VTR will play a key role in the nuclear energy innovation ecosystem

By Suzanne Baker, Jennifer T. Gordon, Judi Greenwald, and Jackie Toth

Next-generation nuclear technologies hold the potential to bring US-led zero-carbon energy to international markets. But their development will be stymied without government support for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), whose budget was recently zeroed out. Congress still has opportunities to provide sufficient funding, and it must act on them.

Transforming logistics

By Atlantic Council

In Season 2, Episode 1 of empowerME Conversations podcast, host and Atlantic Council empowerME Director Amjad Ahmad speaks with UPS President for Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, and Africa Jean-Francois Condamine about the e-commerce boom in the Middle East, promoting sustainability in the logistics industry, and empowering small and medium enterprises to become regional and global exporters.

Experts react: The September 2021 White House QUAD meeting

By Atlantic Council

US President Joe Biden is set to host a first in-person Quad meeting on September 24, 2021, with Australia, India, and Japan present. South Asia Center experts react to the meeting and offer insight into what to expect.