Center on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Homeland Security
at the Foreign Policy Research Institute

• Video:
  Center on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Homeland Security (Windows Media)
  Center on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Homeland Security (RealMedia)

Mission

The Center’s mission is to study the goals, tactics, and strategies of terrorism and develop responses to it, using:

• Advanced Computer Technology
• Scenarios and Storyboarding
• Simulation and Modeling
• Organizational Change

Project Areas

The focus of the Center’s research is on terrorists, their strategies and tactics, and their objectives, resources, and capabilities for creating MUD (multilateral unconstrained disruption). The Center makes projections on future terrorist actions and develops improved systems for protecting our nation’s vital institutions and interests.

The Center’s current projects focus on management, organization, systems, tools, and methods in the following areas:

• Risk Assessment and Management Standards. Center researchers have developed a targeted version of a comprehensive “security due diligence” procedure for federal, state, and local governments as well as private sector organizations to address the absence of clear standards and guidelines on what works and what doesn’t in the world of security. The Center is working to complete the design of the “security due diligence” and Security Impact Assessment System (SIAS) processes and continues to prepare them for review by federal and state legislative bodies. In particular, the work effort will be aimed at (1) establishing the data and analysis capabilities of the system so that they can be readily employed by security managers at all levels of government and the private sector; and (2) developing and testing the associated “due diligence” training programs.
• Identification of Critical Economic Functions and Substitutes. Standard insurance models are incapable of dealing with the systemic losses that could result from organized terrorist actions. Moreover, recent market volatility caused by the subprime loan and credit crises has illustrated that when chokepoints are compromised, the inter-linkages can threaten the entire system. However, there is today no single source of economic information that provides a detailed picture of the full range of interactions within the U.S. economy, much less the relationships between the U.S. and the world economy. Without such information, it is not clear how to set priorities for investments in security or even establish alternative sources of goods and services should major disruptions occur. The second area of the Center’s work is the continued development of methods for identifying the critical functions and operations of the U.S. economy and their alternatives.
• Intergovernmental Security Communications and Operations. Even though the federal government continues to play the lead role in intelligence gathering and analysis and in international “containment” operations, it is state and local governments and the private sector that have principal responsibility for domestic security. In order for state and local governments to work cooperatively with DHS, there must be clear communications standards, guidelines, and procedures. This area of research focuses on identifying and disseminating easily adaptable communications procedures that meet the needs of all levels of government as well as the private sector.
• Attack Indicators. For the most part, current work on identifying potential attacks has been associated with the efforts of. Based largely on the application of the methods employed by federal agencies such as the CIA, NSA, and the FBI for half a century, indicators of potential attacks are derived from the information produced by standard international and domestic intelligence operations. These methods have both strengths and weaknesses associated particularly with monitoring the intentions and capabilities of small, highly decentralized groups and even individuals. The Center’s research team has thus been developing procedures for identifying domestic indicators of potential attacks through efforts aimed at “grass roots” indicators.
• Indicators of Domestic Radicalization. Much has been said concerning the threat of “homegrown terrorism” in the United States, but there remains a need for research that focuses on individuals and organizations in order to identify indicators pertaining to terrorist actions. In particular, this project focuses on populations demonstrated to be prone to radicalization, such as prison inmates and ex-offenders.
• Defense Strategies. What is the best military strategy for conducting the war on terror? How should U.S. forces be organized to provide for the common defense? The Center is working to help answer these and other important national security questions through its research, conferences, and publications.