Our Mission

To enhance security in the Near East and South Asia by building sustained, mutually beneficial relationships; fostering regional cooperation on security issues; and promoting effective communications and strategic capacity through free and candid interaction in an academic environment.

New from the NESA Center Focus on Afghanistan From 28-29 July, the NESA Center convened 100 representatives from the interagency and international community to discuss the upcoming 2009 Afghan Presidential election.   This meeting followed on an earlier joint conference with the Royal United Services Institute in London looking at the Afghan elections in both 2009 and 2010. Lebanese Armed Forces Orientation Trip From 13-20 July, the NESA Center organized a program for a delegation of 29 officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces Command and Staff College.  The program focused on both substantive political issues and curriculum development, including sessions at the NESA Center, National Defense University, and the U.S. Army War College.    NEW!!  CT Laws Workshop   From 21-23 July, the NESA Center convened 70 experts from the U.S. and the NESA region to exchange views on the management of violence in an evolving international context.  One goal was to establish and maintain a network of experts to engage this issue and publish an analysis in 2009. April Alumni Reunion in State Magazine In the July/August issue of State Magazine there is an article about our latest reunion.  One of our U.S. alumni is quoted as saying that, “The NESA Center is ideal...to build rapport and gain insights…from throughout the region.”   Get a Snapshot of the Center See our trifold brochure explaining who we are and what we do.

NESA Center Faculty Writings Four NESA Center faculty and staff members have articles in the most recent issue of Joint Force Quarterly. Dr. Fariborz Mokhtari,"Iran's 1953 Coup Revisited: Internal Dynamics v. External Intrigue," The Middle East Journal (vol. 62, no. 3). Dr. Murhaf Jouejati writes on "Syria's Role in the Middle East" in a forthcoming book titled Bound to Cooperate:  Europe and the Middle East. Dr. Jouejati also writes on "The Making of Syria's Strategic Culture" in an upcoming book Strategic Culture and Weapons of Mass Destruction:  Culturally-Based Insight into Comparative National Security Policymaking. U.S. Government Reports --  2008 National Defense Strategy (June 2008) --  Vision 2015: A Globally Networked and Integrated Intelligence Enterprise (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) Other Reports   --  How Terrorist Groups End:  Implications for Countering al Qa'ida (RAND Corporation) --  Trip Report to Afghanistan (GEN Barry R. McCaffrey) --  National War Powers Commission Report In Memoriam   Peter Rodman, formerly the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, died this month at age 64.  He was a strong supporter of the DOD Regional Centers and spoke at NESA Center seminars on several occasions.  Read his obituary here.

Building Relationships -- Enhancing Security Last Updated: 12 August 2008