Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies CEO Michael Swetnam comments on the latest controversy surrounding US counterterrorism policy in a report produced by Voice of America.  As VOA News reports, the Obama administration's desire to try terrorism suspects in US civilian courts has ignited fresh debate over whether terrorism should be treated as an act of war or a criminal act. That question was also articulated by moderator Michelle Van Cleave at the Institute's January 29 terrorism review seminar held at the Brookings Institution, which was covered by VOA.  Swetnam argues that while terrorist acts certainly have a criminal aspect, "We should not let the consideration that it is a criminal act prevent us from using our war powers when necessary and vice versa."  Click here for text and video versions of the full report. 
     

Prof. Yonah Alexander, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' International Center for Terrorism Studies, and Michael Swetnam, CEO of the Institute, will be the keynote speakers at a Strategic Communication forum in Turkey in March.  The program, to be held in Ankara March 8-12, is an initiative of the Turkish Partnership for Peace Training Center and will provide participants with communications strategies designed to advance the goals of NATO. The program is supported by the Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, a consortium of academic institutions in 35 countries, for which Prof. Alexander serves as Director. For more information about the program, please contact the International Center for Terrorism Studies at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit www.bioem.tsk.tr     

 Professor Yonah Alexander, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' International Center for Terrorism Studies,  is pleased to announce the release of a new special report: Maghreb and Sahel Terrorism: Addressing the Rising Threat from Al Qaeda and Other Terrorists in North and West/Central Africa.  The report is an up-to-the-minute look at the rising threat of radicalization and terrorist activity in this troubled part of the world.  It also raises the alarm about a disturbing trend: the increasing cooperation between narco-traffickers based in Latin America and Al Qaeda in the Maghreb.  Click below to access the report in its entirety.

       

What would it be like to hear using cochlear implants?  Cochlear implants are more than hearing aids: these high-tech devices don't just amplify sound, they "create" the experience of sound for profoundly deaf users.  On February 19, attendees at the next Capital Consortium for Neuroscience: Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (CCNELSI: www.ccnelsi.com) lecture will have the opportunity to experience a simulation of cochlear-implant sound and hear more about the experiences of users from Dr. Michael Chorost, a science writer who began using the implants after going deaf in 2001. Dr. Chorost has written extensively about cochlear implants, and the implications for progressively more integration of technologicial devices into the human body. HIs talk will be entitled "Cyborg Ear, Cyborg Mind."  The event will be held at noon on February 19 at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Click here for more details.